What Would The Gryffindor's Say?

Elijah seemed to have made it out unscathed. His words had angered Andrew, he knew that, but they did have desired effect. It was just a shame that the exclamation was the wrong thing to say at that point in time. Obviously the idiot hadn’t had very many girlfriends. Well, Elijah could hardly say he’d had girlfriends but models he’d had and plenty one night stands were added into the equation. If it was one thing that he knew that women liked then that was to feel safe and the added bit was trust and honesty. None of those things could be fulfilled if you were absent from their lives. Andrew wanted her safe. Had he not thought that perhaps she’d be safer if she was around him instead? Elijah didn’t know what was going through the Gryffindor’s head. Most likely air.

But now the idiot had mucked up again. His first mistake was dumping her. His second mistake was asking her back out not even a day later. It was about five hours from what Elijah could gather. From the train and in between the battle to now. Yeah, five or so hours. Elijah blinked a few times and watched the exchange, his eyes wide in disbelief. Andrew must have been brain dead or just incredibly imbecilic. Had it been a day to joke Elijah would have picked both and more but now wasn’t the time. Chase was distraught. That wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. Well, perhaps it was but not in the way it had been done.

Elijah touched his nose, thankful for the spell and he put the minor healing charm to memory for the next time an angry ex-boyfriend punched him. He licked his thumb and wiped the blood away from under his nose. He was pleased his nose was still intact even if it still hurt. Elijah’s eyes went back to the couple and he watched for a few moments until Chase turned to him. He did feel like he was interrupting something but perhaps it was better he was there...maybe. Elijah opened his mouth to correct Chase but she’d already sped off towards the castle. Elijah turned back to Andrew and glared at the idiot Gryffindor.

“Did you know that there’s this delicate little flower that inhabits every country on this planet? This beautiful flower comes in all shapes and sizes, different colours and character. But do you know what? Inside all of those little flowers, inside every single one, there is something they’re not quite ready to hand over to someone else. Let’s continue the metaphor and say a bee for example. They trust the bees to look after them and make sure they’ll be alright and if it is a bee right for them then their emotions will balance out because they fit like puzzle pieces. Everything would work because they clicked. They are delicate and temperamental which is why we, as bees, handle each one with as much care and devotion we can give. Those delicate flowers, asshole, are women, girls. Your delicate little flower just had her petals plucked off because of you! She’s in pieces and it’s all because of you! You have no clue how to handle women – you can’t even change your mind without reducing her to tears! I suggest, until you learn, you stay away from her and other flowers as well because obviously all you can leave in your path is destruction.”

And with those words Elijah turned and ran up after Chase, calling her name and asking for her to stop or at least wait for him. Elijah had always promised himself that should one of his girls need his help in any way, he would help as much as he could. His models helped build what he had and they were his friends. Chase was his friend anyway even without being his model. He wanted to make her happy again because he knew that the idiotic Gryffindor wouldn’t be able to. No he’d just make her more distraught. Elijah caught hold of Chase’s wrist and curled his arm around her waist so she didn’t fall if she suddenly jerked back. Elijah gently released her wrist but kept his arm around her. He didn’t want to go running again. She needed to breath, cry, scream, hit him – she could do whatever she wanted to because he could take it. If it made her feel better then he’d live through that. He just wanted her to be able to smile without feeling her heart clench painfully in her chest.

Chase felt a hand on her wrist, and she attempted to pull away, but another arm caught her around the waist and pulled her to him. She immediately realized it was Elijah and she collapsed against his chest. Tears poured down her cheeks, she had made it to an unused classroom on the ground floor before he had caught her, so they were completely out of site of the feast, and Andrew. She cried hard into his chest for a long moment before she could finally get out words. "Why would he do that?" She whispered trying to calm her breathing, her hand clenched into a fist, right above his heart. Her eyes watched the steady rise and fall of his breath and she took a deep breath herself.

It was really nice, being in Elijah's arms, especially after what had just happened. "He broke up with me..." She whispered, sorrow lacing her words. "He left me... he made me feel special, then told me he couldn't be with me.. who.. who does that?" She whispered and her eyes slowly looked up in search of Eli's. "I mean.." She searched for words, but could find none, her eyes searching his for an answer, an answer she knew he didn't have. She took a deep shuddering breath and wiped her eyes, her eyeliner and mascara smearing and wiping under her eyes, making her look extremely tired.

"It was so great before, my parents were killed, I have these nasty scars, he took me in, gave me a place to stay after the Lestrange house was attacked by a demon... I lived with Sophia for a while after my family died... but then I moved in with him, and it was so good, I know on the train I had annoyed him by sitting across from him, Sylvia had come to meet me on the train, and I was introducing him to her, Sylvia's my owl." She said and knew she was going off on a life story, he had to understand what she was feeling right now. No one else did.

She wiped her eyes again and looked up at him, barely registering that she was still tight to his chest. "And then he looked at me, and told me we couldn't be together, at first I didn't even register what he had said.. something about Ne'Os.. who by the way, has saved me on plenty of occasions!" She could tell her voice was getting louder and louder, but she was so close to crying, better to get it out in another way, not hitting him, and not bursting into tears again. "Then he got mad at me.. told me to not expect him to be faithful to me when I got angry, he just.. it was such a shock, one moment we were laughing, enjoying the train ride, the next... he was storming out of the compartment.." She shuddered. "And then.. and then.. I cried, I didn't know what else to do.. and Jack came in. Do you know Jack? She's a Gryffindor, pretty scary when you look at her.. but she's so nice.. she's like my best..." Chase stopped and her eyes went wide, her eyes fixed on his chest.

"She was my best friend... until Vito came along, he's the man who killed my parents, and she sided with him, said there was good in him, how can there be good in someone like that? Someone who chooses a random house, and kills everyone but one person in it? I had two younger siblings! Max, Clara, my mom.. dad... they were all killed, he even raped my mom! I tried to protect them.. but I woke up.. and they never did!" She felt more tears slide down her cheeks. "Had I just not opened that door.." She stumbled away from Elijah and found a chair, collapsing into it, her knees no longer able to support her.

"I helped everyone I could on the train... I tried to... but people still died, that kid.. who got blown up, the candy lady.. the driver, they didn't have to die!" She yelled the last few words and covered her face in her hands. "It's all my fault! I did something, I know I did, had I just not opened that door.. had that never happened, I know for a fact everything would be different, I wouldn't have met Andrew, or Jack.. and I'd be happy and stupid with Daniel Valentine as my boyfriend!" She shuddered and her eyes grew dark. "That Vampire.." She shuddered again and the tears stopped momentarily as she wiped them away, smearing her eyeliner even more.

"And then he comes up.. punches you..." Chase suddenly looked up and stood up quickly, almost toppling over. "How's your nose?" She said and went to him, reaching up and gently touching the bridge of his nose, completely focused on where there had been a cut. "I think the spell I threw at it helped a bit.. good thing you broke it back into place anyway.." She said, tears sliding unnoticed now. It was quite the transformation. One minute she was near to sobbing, the next completely absorbed in helping someone else. It was how Chase was able to stay happy all the time, she forgot her problems and fixed on someone elses. It made her at least a little happier. Her eyes found his and she let a small smile cross her face.

"I must seem so stupid to you right now.. blabbering on about my life, I doubt you even want to know, I mean.. I can't deny that I didn't like that kiss, because I did like it, a lot actually, even if I wasn't prepared for it at all, and I'm still kind of tipsy at the moment right now.." She moved away from him again, and sat back down in the chair, a distant look in her eyes. "Every time I try to help someone, I end up losing them, every time I trust someone to be there, they disappear, leave me alone, without anyone to help me.. and I'm forced to find kind strangers.. like you Elijah." her eyes flickered over to him, and then back to the wall, the distant look back again. "Someone kind enough to look at me and say 'I want to be her friend..'" Chase fell silent at last and sat there, her arms wrapped around her body, one finger running over the edge of the scar on her stomach, her eyes locked on some distant location.

The room they’d ended up in looked as if it hadn’t been in use for a good decade or two. There was a thick layer of dust covering every surface and they’d disturbed the peace of the room. Any little critters living amongst the dust were most likely looking at them with fascination. Elijah couldn’t do much for Chase now. He just had to let her sort herself out. He was there for moral support mostly. It was about allowing her to sieve through things. Once she worked it out in her own head she could deal with things better. Enough tears had been shed. He didn’t have the answers. He couldn’t read the Gryffindor’s mind so he didn’t know what the idiot had been thinking. He wished he could give Chase the answers. He wanted to but he knew there was no way he could.

He decided just to let her speak. He’d listen and take in what she was saying then perhaps offer his opinion where it was warranted. She’d loved this Gryffindor deeply it seemed. The ass didn’t deserve her love, not if he was going to throw it around like it was indestructible. There were cracks in every relationship whether it was a romantic one or a platonic one. But Andrew’s carelessness was making the cracks in this particular relationship, wide and deep. It would take a lot to fix them. Perhaps they never would be fixed. All Elijah could do was help them along the way. He hadn’t forgotten about the kiss but that had been pushed to the back of his mind. That wasn’t important right now.

“I don’t know Chase,” He murmured as an answer to her question.

Then she began to rattle of exactly what led up to this moment, this point in her lifetime. Her parents had died. He hadn’t expected that at all. A wave of sympathy washed over him but he couldn’t really sympathise with her. He didn’t know how it felt to have his parents taken away from him in such a cruel way. If it was his parents he probably wouldn’t have cared anyway. But her parents were murdered by someone she was associated with because of her supposed best friend. He’d done some terrible things in his own time but siding with your best friend’s parents’ killer....there was something wrong there. There was good in everyone but from what Elijah could gather this person hadn’t even batted an eyelid. Did he think about it even for a second that what he was doing was wrong?

“It’s not your fault.” Elijah said firmly. “You can’t blame yourself for something that’s out of your control.”

If Elijah hadn’t been worrying about Chase then he would have spared a few seconds to think about what he had said. “You can’t blame yourself for something that’s out of your control.” He was a hypocrite that should have been taking his own advice. Every single day he looked back on the events of December 2014. He’d spare a moment or two just to think about Alice or he’d retrace his steps, the ones he would have taken had she been in his presence. Sometimes he’d draw her, or what he believed was her, and sometimes he’d paint colours that had no direction yet to him made up Alice in entirety. He blamed himself for her death because he felt, even years later, that he could have done something even though it was out of his control. What could a nine-year-old boy do? Nothing. Yet he still blamed himself, told himself he should have and could have done something when really...he couldn’t have.

Elijah felt something touch his nose and his eyes refocused so Chase came into view. He turned his head away, letting her fingers fall off of the bridge of his nose and wrinkled it slightly. He rolled it around, ignoring the pain shooting through it and finally pressed his fingers against the middle of it. “It’ll be fine in the morning.” Elijah shrugged non-comittedly. “If it’s going to drop off of my face then I’ll go to the hospital wing but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He looked at Chase hard and tried to figure her out. Her emotions changed like the weather but in this instance it was understandable. “I’m not going anywhere Chase.” Eli promised. “I want to be your friend. Friends don’t abandon the ones that need them the most.” Eli wrapped his arms around the redhead and kissed her forehead. “I’m your friend, okay? I’m here for you for as long as you want me.”

He was perfect. Everything he did seemed to calm her down a little bit more. She took deep breaths and tried to concentrate on clearing her thoughts, even when he said he didn't know, it seemed to ground a part of her consciousness and wake her up a bit more. There was so much more she had to do then cry like this. She had no right to cry, so many people had it so much worse then her! She looked up at him when he hugged her, and felt his lips on her forehead.

Chase smiled slightly and hugged him back, feeling her mind slowly start to ease. She felt tears leak out of her eyes every now and then, but she ignored them for the most part. Her nose was starting to run and she pressed herself against Elijah's chest for a long moment. There was a thunderous sound from outside, and she knew that the feast was over. People were heading to their common rooms. She didn't move though. She stayed tight against Elijah's chest, feeling his deep breaths against her cheek, listening to his heart beat.

"Thanks..." She said finally feeling her breathing calm down finally. "I really.. I just need a friend right now." She said and looked up at him. "I probably ruined it with Andrew... completely and totally... meaning I lost him, Jack won't even look at me now, if she does, she shoots nasty words at me... no family, I don't even have any distant relatives.." She said taking a deep breath. "I feel..." She went silent, searching for a word that described what she felt. "I feel Abandoned..." She said slowly and then looked up at Elijah. "I'd like to be your friend, I may be a Hufflepuff, and you're a Slytherin.. but.. we can do it right? We can be friends?" She looked at him hopefully, her eyes bright with the tears, but now a spark of hope pierced the dimness that had been there moments ago. She had a friend, she had someone in this world to bind her to the ground, and she was thankful for that at least.

Hugs, in Elijah’s opinion, were so much better than kisses. Kisses were wet, sometimes sloppy and held no real emotion. Of course kisses held those lustful emotions that got so many people into trouble and on occasion those lustful emotions would turn into those of love but hugs were so much more than that. Hugs had everything. Hugs were just....hugs. They could be used in every instance, as a greeting, as a goodbye and used just because they could be. In this case, it was reassurance and a reminder that someone was there. Elijah couldn’t remember the last time he’d been properly hugged and he knew it hadn’t been by his mother of all people. It had probably been one of the models, a thank-you in that instance. But now, it was Chase that needed the love, the reassurance and the reminder that he was there for her.

Elijah loosened his grip around her, allowing her to move a little bit more freely and met her gaze when she looked at him. He frowned a little at her pessimism and his facial features morphed into a look of understanding when she mentioned abandonment. He knew what that felt like. That he could sympathise with and understand.

“Alright,” He murmured. “Maybe you were abandoned but you aren’t anymore. You’ve got me.” Perhaps that wasn’t a lot but Elijah hoped that his presence meant something to her. He hoped that he could help her limp through this blip. Well, it was hardly a blip, more like a nice big hole that she couldn’t get herself out of. She was stuck and he was going to help her out. He didn’t care if he had to carry her to the damn finish line. He wanted Chase to smile and be happy He wanted her to always be happy. He didn’t want to see her tears anymore. “We are friends, Chase.” He smiled softly. “There’s no such thing as can or will. We are, okay? We are and we will be for as long as humanly possible.”

Chase felt tears prick her eyes and she could feel the emotion in the hug, how deeper it went, how much she knew, that Eli was her friend, she knew he was there for her, and she hoped he knew that right now, he meant the world to her. In a world where everyone left you, that one person who stretched out his hand, helped her off her knees, and said, 'come on, I'm here for you.' it was like her family was back again. That hole in her chest seemed to fill with gratitude and happiness, even if it was a fleeting happiness, she clung to it, having forgotten what it felt like.

"Thank you..." She whispered, and hugged him again. "Thank you so much Elijah.. I don't know how else to say... how much it means to me.. that you didn't just.. just leave me." she said softly and hugged him harder, afraid to leave that comforting presence that had become Elijah Krum. "We will be friends, thank you." She said softly and closed her eyes for a moment, letting the feeling wash over her for a second before she finally loosened her hold and looked up at him again, slowly letting her arms drop, and she looked up at him. "You smell nice." She said and a small smile stretched across her face. Her features lit up, and it was like a whole new person was looking at him now.

Someone who didn't have the scars from her past, no family, and only one friend. Someone who didn't look like they had been tortured, abused, and left on the side of the road. No, this was Chase Moor. The survivor, the forgiver. The smile grew wider, and it felt like a sweep of fresh air when a small burst of laughter broke through the silence. "Thanks." She said smiling at him still. "I wish I could give you something more then that.." She said looking at him. "Maybe you could paint me one day, and I won't hold back, whatever you want me in, I'll do it." She said, her eyes twinkling. She looked down suddenly and laughed again. Her stomach made a loud growl and she looked up at him. "I'm hungry.." She said a soft blush creeping into her cheeks.

Friends, Elijah repeated the word over a few times in his mind and thought of Julia. Did she count as a friend? More like a ...well, a half-friend. They were just there to muck about with each other – the spiking of the punch at Christmas being one of those instances. There was no real substance there. Elijah could have been broad and said that Alice was his first and last friend. She’d been...well, everything to him. So much so that she cropped up in his mind even now. She’d been hanging around a fair bit lately, too. Elijah didn’t know why but somehow he didn’t think he minded. Perhaps Chase was a good way of telling Alice that she didn’t need to be there anymore, that he didn’t need to be hung up on her anymore. Friends were rare and it wasn’t often that Elijah had one. Chase was good, a change, and she needed him more than he needed her.

Elijah hummed softly in agreement and nodded once before speaking. “I won’t leave.” He said firmly. He didn’t know why she doubted him so much but it was understandable. “Not unless you ask me to.” Even then he probably wouldn’t unless he believed that she truly didn’t need him anymore.

He looked down at Chase and chuckled. “Thank-you, Miss.” A smile spread over his space when one appeared on Chase’s and he found himself grinning with her. “Perhaps on a weekend I could steal you away for a few hours.” Elijah suggested thoughtfully. He heard her stomach rumble and raised his eyebrow. “Well perhaps a trip to the kitchens is in order..”

Chase looked at him and smiled slightly. A friend.. it was hard to imagine, she was so afraid he would be gone every time she blinked. Afraid that someone would take him away as harshly as her other friends had been taken away from her. She was almost afraid to trust the Slytherin as a friend. She was afraid he would leave her, but somehow, she didn't think he would. She had a feeling he would be there for her...

Smiling at him, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and nodded. "Sorry about.. missing the feast.." She said glancing towards the door, half afraid to leave it in case she ran into Andrew and what mental ability she had regained would crumble again. She looked at him and smiled slightly, an odd pang in her heart every time she had to lift her lips into the smile that showed happiness. It was like her mind was telling her not to, because the smile was a lie at the moment. She wasn't happy, and she wouldn't be for a while, but at least for the time being, she could be friends with Elijah. If he left her...

She didn't want to think about it.

She reached out and grabbed his wrist, and smiled at him again. "Come on then." She said and blinked once before pulling on his wrist and heading to the door, the kitchens were on this floor, and her stomach was growling up a storm, but she kept pulling on his arm heading over to the corridor that led down slightly into the Hufflepuff common room area, and the kitchens as well. "Hope there aren't to many people in there." She said looking over her shoulder at him and smiling lightly. She kept up the charade, if she acted happy, maybe.. one day, she could be happy again.