cold winds blow (pyxis)

[alvah]

Sive walked down to the Quidditch pitch, broom in hand, her long dark hair blowing annoyingly in the wind.

It was early evening, just after lessons, and the weather was starting to turn. The sky was filled with dark grey clouds, and the wind was starting to pick up. Right now it was blowing in such a way that her hair flew out behind her, rather than getting in her face, but once she was flying that would change, and she hadn't brought anything to tie it back. She wore thick black leggings rather then her proper Quidditch ones, with her black Quidditch boots laced up to her knees. Rather than her Gryffindor shirt she wore a plain top and jumper to keep warm. She had forgone the shin and arm guards, since she was just flying herself, but had opted to wear her fingerless gloves.

She reached the pitch, which was empty. Sive had assumed it would be, since no teams were scheduled to practice tonight, but you couldn't always trust the Slytherins to stick to their set times. They generally practised when it suited them, not that it mattered as long as they didn't try to encroach on anyone else's practice time.

Sive reached the pitch and kicked off, doing a few laps to start warming up. Later maybe she'd get out the Quaffle and bewitch it to fly back to her so she could take some shots, but she was short a keeper, and so preferred to just practice flying. After her laps she tried a few dives, and few loops, different evasive manoeuvres, tossing her hair out of her face each time the wind caused it to obscure her vision.

[PYXIS ELLADORA BLACK]

Her long dark hair was blowing in the wind as Pyxis Black stood underneath a tree on the ground, a cigarette in hand, smoke billowing from her mouth. She'd regretted not tying her hair back and picking up this horrid habit in the first place; it felt more like an addiction now than anything else, but it was an addiction that provided a calm like nothing else. Everything could fall apart and the smoke filling her lungs would be able to bring her some sense of relief. But still, a part of her despised Rabastan for even suggesting the bloody idea in the first place.

"Try it," he said, "you'll really like it."

He failed to mention that she wouldn't be able to stop. Not that she particularly minded too much. It did provide stress relief, and it did give her something to do when she couldn't stop thinking. In this particular instance Pyxis was thinking about Sirius again. It was the start of a new school year, and she'd seen him around a few times, but they hadn't spoken all summer. Not even an owl. She told herself she didn't care, but the fact that she was out there smoking was evidence enough that she did. She let out a sigh as she let another puff of smoke leave her lungs, as she closed her eyes and calmed herself once more. If Sirius wanted to talk to her, he would. He wasn't interested in being a Black anymore. He'd rather be a Potter. Potter....

And as if by fate Pyxis opened her eyes to see none other than Sive Potter walking across the lawn, broom in hand. Pyxis smirked slightly as she watched the girl she'd consider one of her best friends. It was astonishing how different she was from James, and how different she was from most Gryffindors. Most of the time Pyxis would rather hit a Gryffindor than speak with them, but Sive and Pyxis had met at a young age when Sirius was still interested in his family and things hadn't gone so far down hill. The further Sirius away got from Pyxis the closer he got to Sive. Part of Pyxis was jealous of that, though she'd never admit that to anyone either. And it's not like Sive asked for it, either. It was all stupid James and Sirius.

Sirius had lived with the Potter's for around a year now, and Sive sometimes felt like Pyxis' only connection to Sirius. It was how she kept tabs without anyone else in her family knowing. Bella and Cissa both decided that Sirius was an awful person, and he kind of was - who just abandons their whole family? Really? But, all that aside, Pyxis wasn't down for just leaving him to whatever life he was going to live. She wanted to make sure he was okay.

She left her spot underneath the tree and followed silently behind Sive before watching as she flew up into the air. Pyxis laughed as she watched Sive's hair go even more crazy than it had been in just the regular cold wind.

"Sive !" Pyxis shouted as she cupped her hands around her mouth. But she quickly realized the wind was too loud for her voice to carry let alone have Sive hear her. But she was a clever girl. She took out her wand and placed it to her throat.

"Sonorus"she whispered before looking up at her flying friend and grinning. "Paging Sive Potter to the ground floor, she said, her voice coming out infinitely louder than it had been. She let out a laugh that reverberated off of every wall in the pitch before whispering the counter curse and laughing some more.

[alvah]

Sive was trying another evasive Quidditch move, one which should get her past anyone trying to tackle her, when she heard a voice she recognised ringing across the pitch. She halted suddenly, and wheeled her broom around to see Pyxis standing on the pitch, as her amplified laugh reverberated around the stands.

Pyxis was Sirius' younger sister, and a Slytherin. But, somewhat surprisingly, Sive and Pyxis had been friends for years. Maybe the fact that both of their older brothers were joined at the hip had brought them together. That had certainly been how they had met. Pyxis wasn't as awful as Sirius made out the rest of his family to be, not by a long shot. She was a Slytherin, so clearly she was more of a 'Black' than Sirius was; the only kind of black Sirius identified with was the ovis kind. Over the years Sirius had gotten more and more distant from his family, until finally he had left. Now it seemed like he was more Sive's brother than Pyxis', which made Sive slightly uncomfortable. She didn't know how she'd feel if James drifted away from the family and found another little sister. Especially now that it was just the two of them...

Sive felt the sharp pang of grief as she remembered that, but it wasn't as bad as it had been a few months ago. Slowly the pangs had gotten less intense, and less frequent. Sive flew down towards Pyxis, wondering if she would want to talk about Sirius. Pyxis often asked about her brother, and Sive could tell that she missed him, even if she refused to admit it. Sive sometimes felt very awkward answering her questions, showing that she knew more about Sirius than his own sister, but Pyxis wanted to know, and so Sive would oblige.

She landed, running a hand through her messy hair to push it back off her face. She was exceedingly windswept, and looked almost like James as she pushed her hair out of her eyes, although their goals in doing so were very different. James often ran his hand through his hair, making it look dishevelled, as though he had just gotten off his broomstick. Sive had just gotten off a broomstick, and did it for practical reasons, not because she cared about how she looked.

"Hey, Pyxis," she said, approaching her friend. "I don't think I need to ask what brings you out here." Pyxis had a smoking habit, which Sive sometimes liked to tease her about. It wasn't as though Sive minded smoking, but seeing how quickly Pyxis had become addicted had really put her off the whole idea. It was cumbersome, especially since the teachers didn't allow it, and so Pyxis had to sneak off outside every time she wanted to light up.

[PYXIS ELLADORA BLACK]

Pyxis watched as Sive turned right around on her broom and came flying down to the ground without so much as batting an eye. Sive was brilliant on a broom. Pyxis liked flying, but she was not about to go up there and pretend she was coordinated enough to play Quidditch. She and James must have gotten good Quidditch genes, she supposed. Sive had landed and Pyxis couldn't help but laugh as she stowed her wand in her pocket and Sive tried to get her hair to look straight again. She shook her head at the girl's efforts, but said nothing as Sive greeted her, teasing about the cigarette her hand, which Pyxis was currently taking a puff of. She smirked and held the smoke in for a moment before blowing it toward Sive with a grin.

"Yeah yeah, very funny," she said sarcastically, but the smile on her face gave it away. It was funny. And she didn't need to ask. If Pyxis was outside, without a broom, and without a group of people it was usually because she was smoking, or thinking, or sick of the whole lot of them. But usually it was smoking. "You can thank Rabastan Lestrange," she said with a laugh before rolling her eyes. Rab always had the dumbest ideas. Why did she ever listen to him?

Despite how much the elitist culture had been hammered into her brain, having that many people who thought they were so much better than everyone else could get incredibly frustrating. They were all mental people, Pyxis was pretty sure, but they were her mental people, so no matter how made she got at them she would always go back. Pureblood elitist for life, or, as her family put it -toujours pur.

"But no, you don't have to ask," she said with a laugh before looking around the empty quidditch pitch. "I suppose I don't have to ask you then either?" she asked, looking at the broom in the girls hand. She was obviously practicing for Quidditch.

"But I do have to ask... why are you practicing alone?" she asked before looking at her cigarette and finding it dismally close to the filter. She tossed to the ground quickly before stepping on it. "Doesn't the lack of... well, everyone, make it too easy?"

[/blockquote]

[alvah]

Pyxis acted annoyed at Sive's jibe at her smoking habit, but she was smiling, and Sive knew that she wasn't really annoyed. If anything, she probably did find it funny. She said that Sive should thank Rabastan Lestrange, and Sive rolled her eyes.
"That'll be the day," she said, with a smirk. Rabastan Lestrange was one of Pyxis' crowd, the group that believed in pure-blooded elitism. That was the only part of Pyxis that Sive didn't like, and if she was honest she thought that it probably stopped them from being as close as they might have been. Sive was a pure blood, but she didn't believe that made her better than anyone. She didn't think it was right, treating people badly because of their bloodlines, and the injustice of it sometimes made her furious. Sive couldn't stand unfairness. She didn't like the whispers of a new regime, of a set of beliefs spear headed by a group who were calling themselves the 'Death Eaters'...

But the two of them didn't talk about that, because it would be a sure fire way to break apart their friendship. No politics. It was an easy enough rule to stick to, even if it was an unspoken one. Sive didn't really believe that Pyxis had it in her to eradicate those of 'un-pure blood'. At least, she hoped. Either way, Rabastan Lestrange irritated Sive . He was arrogant and stubborn in his ways, cocky, and good looking enough to let him think he was god's gift to women... at least, that was how he seemed. He was like her brother James, but Sive knew that underneath all the bravado James had a good heart, and a strong sense of right and wrong. She wasn't so sure about Lestrange... or any of the people Pyxis called friends.

Pyxis asked why she was practising alone, and pointed out that practising without the other players would make it all exceedingly easy. Sive laughed, glad of the subject change, since her thoughts had taken such a heavy turn.
"It gives me a chance to work on getting some moves right," she said, "in team practice we're working on improving as a team, I can hardly take time out to practice feinting over and over until I get it right." Sive knew that Pyxis didn't really understand Quidditch, at least not from the players perspective. Sive liked to practise, and she especially liked to practise out from under the eye of her brother, the Quidditch god, and her team captain. James was brilliant at Quidditch, and Sive didn't mind that of the Potters he was the one who shone brightest on the pitch, and he was a good captain, too, but sometimes she just liked a little space. Every now and then, even James family needed time away from his showing off.

[PYXIS ELLADORA BLACK]

Pyxis grinned at Sive as she spoke of Rabastan Lestrange. Rab was pretty much like a brother to her now, even though they were in the same year, but it was no secret between the girls that Sive hated... well, pretty much all of them. But, talking about their beliefs was a sure-fire way to blow their friendship to pieces, so they were both smart enough not talk about it. And, truth be told, Pyxis was extremely thankful for it. It was nice to know that without the pack of Slytherins that she had Sive. It was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't constantly going on and on about how horrible other people were. It got old, very fast. It was nice to be able to hold a normal conversation about normal things, like what a git Rabastan Lestrange was.

"He's really not that... Okay, no, he's pretty shit, but he's funny?" Pyxis said, laughing immediately at her own inability to come up with any redeeming qualities for one of her best friends. He was a pureblood elitist, it wasn't any kind of secret. And that fact automatically made him a bad person in Sive 's eyes and Pyxis knew it. And, maybe it should have made him a bad person in Pyxis' eyes. But it didn't. Not completely. And suddenly Pyxis wanted nothing more than the feel of cigarette in her hands and smoke filling her lungs.

But Pyxis' thoughts were quickly drawn away from that as Sive started about why she was practicing alone, and Pyxis was thankful for the distraction. Pyxis listened silently as Sive explained that at group practices they were practicing as a team, and she didn't have time to go all willy nilly and practice her own thing.

"You should just go rogue one day and do it anyway. I'm sure James wouldn't get too mad," she said, winking and laughing simultaneously. She hadn't a clue what James was like on the pitch, but she knew enough to know Gryffindor won a fair amount of games, so he had to be something right, right?

Pyxis sighed, looking up at the light grey clouds rolling by above them and tried not to let herself think of Sirius. Whenever James was brought up, though, naturally Sirius, at least in Pyxis' mind was brought up with him, but she would not ask about him today. She refused to. She could tell that sometimes it made Sive uncomfortable, and Pyxis would not make today one of those days.

"I'd offer to help you practice or something, but we both know I'm too competitive and not coordinated enough to play something like quidditch," Pyxis said with a laugh before deciding to take a seat on the grass. Despite the fact that it was a gray day the grass still felt soft like summer grass. The ground wasn't too cold or hard yet. It was still, somehow, comfortable.

[/size]

[alvah]

Sive raised an eyebrow as Pyxis continued to talk about Rabastan, saying that he was funny.
"He sure looks like he'd be," she said, sarcastically. Rabastan, and his brother Rodolphus, in fact most of that crowd, always looked dark and serious, like they'd never cracked a smile in their life. Unless of course they were tormenting another student... Avery and Mulciber in particular enjoyed 'pranking' students, often employing the dark arts to do so. But those smiles looked more like a predator baring their teeth than a show of mirth.

But then the conversation turned back to Quidditch, and Sive smiled at Pyxis' suggestion.
"Oh, I do," she said, grinning. Sive often 'went rogue', as Pyxis put it, in practices, challenging her brothers authority. She hated being told what to do at the best of times, and something about it being James doing the bossing just made it even harder for her to go along with it all. She would often amuse the team by teasing James, doing impressions of him, and just generally doing her own thing. As long as it didn't disrupt their practice too much the rest of their team didn't mind, but James was rarely impressed. Sure, most of the time he could enjoy a good joke like everyone else, but Sive thought that something about the way she refused to obey him without question rankled her brother. Most people thought James was wonderful, and the rest of the team all did what he said. But his sister wasn't buying that.

Still, Sive thought, she wasn't going to stop. There was no harm in it, and if anything he should be the one to change, not her; he needed to loosen up. James took himself too seriously sometimes. Sive was glad that Sirius didn't play Quidditch, or the pair of them would have been a nightmare.

Pyxis sat down on the grass, which Sive wasn't sure was the best idea. The day was so grey that she was sure the grass would be cold, hard, and maybe even damp. But Pyxis seemed comfortable enough, and Sive didn't like speaking to her while standing, so she dumped her broom on the grass before sitting down beside her friend.

Sive laughed as Pyxis said that she would offer to help, but then listed reasons why that wasn't a good idea. It was true, Pyxis was very competitive, and she could fly, sure, but she wasn't much good at playing Quidditch. That competitive nature, the desire to win and be good, paired with a complete lack of skill, would be a disaster.
"You're all right, Pyx," Sive said, with a grin. "We have a practice tomorrow anyway, I'm sure James will be putting us through our paces..." the weather looked like it was gearing up to be really bad during the week, but Sive hoped it held off until at least after tomorrow evening. James wouldn't call of practice for rain and wind. She could almost hear him now; "We might need to play in these sorts of conditions..."

[PYXIS ELLADORA BLACK]

Pyxis let out a laugh as Sive spoke of Rabastan once more. Sive's sarcasm was absolutely one of Pyxis' favorite things about her. Should it have bothered Pyxis that her best friend hated the rest of her friends? Probably, but it didn't. Pyxis was more than happy to sit around and make fun of the rest of them because she knew they could take it. Teasing each other was practically a sport. A sport that, over the past few years, Pyxis had gotten very good at. Growing up with Sirius honed her wit unbelievably, and it was one of the things she would always be thankful to him for. Growing up with Sirius had taught her to have a tough skin. He never meant his teasing, but it taught her to be made fun of and dish it right back.

But now that she thought about it, Rabastan always did look kind of stoic most of the time. Maybe it was just because Pyxis knew him better than that.

"Fair point," she said with a laugh before half-shrugging. She wanted to say that he really wasn't that bad, but pushing the issue probably wasn't a good idea.

Sive said she went rogue during practices and Pyxis felt herself grinning. She could imagine that getting under James' skin and the thought made her laugh. She could imagine James telling the team to do something and Sive just not even saying anything and doing her own thing. She smirked , looking to Sive with a grin. "Good." She knew Sive didn't need or want any kind of approval from her, but that wasn't how it was meant. It was a supportive good. A 'good job rebelling' good. There was never any kind of approval needed between the two. They let each other live their own lives separate from one another, and tried really hard (or not so hard at all) not to bring it up.

It was an undeniable fact. Their lives were very different when they were away from each other, so it was hard not to talk about it, even if it was jabs here and there. Pyxis' wasn't bothered by the fact that Sive didn't like her family or her friends, she liked Pyxis, and that was what mattered, really. Pyxis let out a laugh as Sive said she was alright and that they had practice tomorrow anyway. "Try not to deflate James' ego too much," she winked toward Sive again before falling backward against the hard ground, staring up at the sky.

Her thoughts were wandering again and she didn't like it. They were wandering to her friends, the whispers of a new regime, Lord Voldemort. She didn't like that that's where her thoughts went, especially since there was an unspoken agreement that she and Sive were never to discuss politics. Inwardly Pyxis was glad that Sive was able to look past Pyxis' elitist attitude. Then again, she didn't exactly wear it as heavily on her sleeve as the rest of them. But, the belief was there whether she wanted it to be or not.

And in that moment Pyxis decided to break that unspoken rule, though not completely.

"Do you think everyone's right? Do you really think there's gonna be a war?"" she asked, regretting it almost immediately, but... part of Pyxis wondered what kind of friendship they had if they weren't able to talk about the more serious things in life. Not that either of them particularly ever liked to be serious. But, this was one of those times where Pyxis generally wanted to know what Sive thought. As someone who was... well, she wasn't unbiased, but she wasn't quite as biased as Bella and the rest, either.

The thought of war made Pyxis simultaneously excited and uncomfortable, and it was a feeling that she hated. She felt conflicted and uncomfortable and... Well, most of all she felt confused. She leaned up on her elbows and reached up into her pocket and pulled out her pack of cigarettes, which was running pathetically low. She took her wand out of her pocket and silently a small flame lit the end of the wand and she brought it to the cigarette, inhaling a few times to get it going before she took a long drag. She held the smoke in, leaned backwards on the ground again, and blew the smoke it up towards the sky, the smoke quickly disappearing from sight among the color of the clouds.

[/blockquote]

[alvah]

Pyxis said that Sive would have to be careful not to deflate James' ego too much, and Sive rolled her eyes.
"Please," she said, laughing slightly, "if anyone ever needed his ego deflated, its James Potter. And Quidditch practice is just about the only chance I get." Sive loved her brother, but even she could readily admit that he was big headed. He loved to show off- that seemed to be why he kept Peter Pettigrew around- and to be the centre of attention. As his sister, Sive felt it was her responsibility to knock James down a few pegs. If not her, then who?

Then Pyxis changed the subject.

Sive had always thought that it was understood they wouldn't venture onto the topic that talking about a war would eventually lead to... well, if they weren't careful, anyway. Sive was determined not to let the conversation drift to picking sides. She had enough to be dealing with at the moment, without fighting with her friends. The grief from the loss of her parents was still raw, and the impending war loomed over her. For Sive was sure there was going to be a war. James and Sirius were, too, and the two of them had stayed up many nights talking about it. Sive had mostly listened. They had clearly picked their sides, and Sive had too, but she didn't have the same hot headedness about it that the boys seemed to, the same bravado. Sive had never experienced war, but she was sure that hard, dark times were upon them. Heroic deeds, in reality, would be messy and heart wrenching. Sacrifices for the greater good would be just that, sacrifices. Sive wondered how many of them would make it through.

She let Pyxis light her cigarette, and watched as the smoke unfurled towards the grey sky. The dark clouds looming in the distance seemed to foretell what was to come.

"Yes," she said, finally, after a long silence. "I do." Sive was sure of it. She could feel it in the whispers of the castle. She could feel it in the air. She could feel it in her bones.

[PYXIS ELLADORA BLACK]

Sive said that if anyone needed their ego deflated that it would be James and Pyxis laughed, shaking her head at Sive. It was true, more true than Pyxis wanted to admit. James Potter had always had a larger than average ego, even in their first year.

"You're right, show no mercy," Pyxis said laughing. She could tell that the question she asked immediately put Sive on edge, only making her regret asking it even more. She shouldn't have brought it up. And it felt like time slowed down as she waited for Sive to answer. She wasn't sure what kind of answer she expected - the answer was yes, whether either of them wanted it to happen or not. A war was coming, and that thought made Pyxis uncomfortable; the idea of war frightened Pyxis. She stared up at the clouds, thinking that even the weather knew what was going on in the wizarding world. And then Sive 's answer came, and it was exactly the response she expected. Sive thought there was a war coming. No, knew there was a war coming. There was no guessing anymore. Sides were being chosen - and that was the line that she and Sive currently needed to toe.

They could talk about the approaching war all they wanted, so long as they avoided choosing sides. But wouldn't any conversation about the war eventually lead to that? Wouldn't that eventually lead to the explosion of their friendship? Pyxis knew what side Sive would choose. It was the same side that Sirius and James would choose. And it was the opposite of the side she would choose. The thought made her sick to her stomach. Things used to be so simple, or maybe they never were. Maybe it had all started a big mess, and now someone was just stepping in and trying to clean it up.

Pyxis took another drag of her cigarette, blowing another puff into the sky before her eyes found Sive. She seemed solemn and calm, the way Pyxis was so used seeing her. But Pyxis knew that there was so much more to Sive. She knew she could be feisty and fierce and dangerous. Sive was a brilliant witch, and... whenever the war began Pyxis was smart enough to know that Sive would be a force to be reckoned with. And Pyxis could only hope she wouldn't end up pitted against her in battle.

She looked at Sive, and suddenly realized just what a bad friend she had been being. How could she talk about this stupid war when she hadn't even talked about how Sive was doing after the death of her parents? Part of her hadn't wanted to bring it up; she hadn't wanted to make Sive any more sad than she already had to be. But did it make her a bad friend to not ask, too? She took another drag and let it out slowly.

"Yeah," Pyxis agreed quietly, deciding that that was all that needed to be said on the matter... for now. She knew eventually that she and Pyxis would have to talk about the war, they couldn't just silently fight against one another, could they? But for now there were more important things at hand. Things that had already happened.

"So how are you doing? With your parents?" There was probably a better, more tactful way for her to have asked, but the sentiment was there, and that was what mattered in the end, right?

[/blockquote]

[alvah]

Sive looked at Pyxis slightly sadly as she thought of the impending war. She didn't think she needed to ask which side her friend would be on, when it came to it. Pyxis was pureblood, like Sive, but from a very different family. Sirius had told her and James all about his parents and their pureblood mania. They believed that muggleborns- or 'mudbloods', as they called them- should be eradicated. Sive didn't know how firmly Pyxis held to that belief, but no matter what her beliefs were or how strongly she adhered to them, Pyxis wouldn't abandon her family like Sirius had. So did it really matter?

There was no point questioning it. The war was coming, whether they talked it through or not. Perhaps it was already upon them, but they just hadn't all admitted it to themselves yet. There would be a moment when the Ministry declared open war fare... and then maybe everything would change. Or maybe nothing would. Maybe they were already there, and saying it wouldn't make things any different. But Sive didn't think so. The man who called himself 'Lord Voldemort' was getting more and more powerful. No one knew who his supporters were, no one knew if an enemy was hiding in plain sight. No one knew who to trust. People were dying, dropping like flies, every day the Daily Prophet reported more and more deaths. There were rumours of the Imperius curse being used, people being forced to do the 'Dark Lords' bidding. Sive had also heard rumours of inferi, corpses animated by dark magic, of Giants, and even Werewolves, Werewolves who lived outside of society, organised, with a vicious leader...

It seemed to her that they were already at war. Someone just had to say it.

Pyxis gave a lame reply, but didn't continue the subject, and neither did Sive. She didn't want to talk about it. If she needed to get some of her worries off her chest about what was going to happen then she could talk to James and Sirius, or at least listen to them talking about it, relaying the news to one another, talking about what action needed to be taken, what action they themselves would take when they left school. There were stories of an anti-Voldemort movement calling themselves the Order of the Phoenix, started by Albus Dumbledore, their headmaster. Both James and Sirius were determined to join as soon as they left school. Hearing them talk about everything sometimes helped Sive feel more at ease.

And then Pyxis took the subject in another direction, yet again, but it made Sive no less uncomfortable. She shifted slightly, looking away from her friend, towards the darkening sky.
"I'm fine," she said, shrugging, which was mostly true. Sure, she was grieving, and it was hard to come to terms with being an orphan, but that was all normal. She was getting better, slowly, but steadily. It wasn't coming easy, but it was coming. Being back at Hogwarts helped, having things to do, getting back into Quidditch practice... she thought it was helping James too, since he was throwing himself into his captaining duties with more fervour than ever.

"It wasn't unexpected. Dragon pox, at their age..." her parents had had her and James at quite a late age. It did make her feel a bit... untethered. Like she didn't really have a home any more. James was selling the house, rather than live with their parents ghost (metaphorically; their mum and dad had passed on), but it was more the loss of the people who cared for her that made her feel like a wanderer. But she still had James, and the two of them would stick together, at least for a year or so, so it wasn't too bad...

[PYXIS ELLADORA BLACK]

Sive didn’t pick up the conversation about the war or continue it in another direction, and Pyxis felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. She’d brought the conversation into awkward territory and the both of them brought it back out into safer territory. Pyxis looked at Sive as she turned her head toward the sky. The topic may have been safer, per say, but it wasn’t any less awkward. That much was clear.

Pyxis inwardly kicked herself. Tried to explore new territory? Bad move. Try to be a good friend and make sure your friend’s okay? Still a bad move. But she couldn’t and wouldn’t blame Sive for being uncomfortable. She would be too, if her parents passed away and someone had asked her about it. Sive said that the passing wasn’t unexpected and Pyxis frowned slightly.

”I know, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck,” Pyxis said making a face, looking up at the sky like Sive was. ”I know that you’re okay. I just want you to know that if you need to talk to me, you can,” she said, feeling slightly lame.

She was sure more than a dozen people had offered her the same thing: a shoulder to cry on, someone to vent to. She was probably tired of hearing it. But hearing it from a friend, that had to be different, didn’t it? Shouldn’t it meant more from someone who cares about you rather than someone you hardly know, who only heard about the disaster from someone else? Pyxis thought it would mean more, but in the end – did it really matter? She wanted Sive to know that she could talk to her about anything, even if it was the bloody war. Even if it brought up some tense topics – Sive was her friend. She didn’t want either of them to feel like they were walking on eggshells, which is what it felt like right now. And she didn’t like it.

She watched as the clouds seemed to darken even more than they already were. It was probably going to rain. Typical. She inhaled silently before tearing her eyes away from the sky and glancing at Sive. Maybe they should just get back to safe topics altogether.

”So when’s your first match?” she asked with a grin. She enjoyed watching Quidditch, especially when it was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. She particularly enjoyed giving Rabastan shit after a loss to Gryffindor. He absolutely hated it, but Pyxis loved getting under his skin about… well, just about everything. He knew she meant no harm by it. So naturally she’d continue to give him as much shit as humanly possible.

[/blockquote]

[SIVE ALVAH POTTER]

Pyxis said that it would still suck that her parents had died, even if it had been somewhat expected. Sive let out a slight snort of laughter, but immediately felt bad about it. Pyxis was only trying to be kind, and let her know that she was there for her, but Sive couldn't help it. Saying that it 'sucked' seemed like a bit of an understatement.

And then Pyxis said that Sive could talk to her, if she wanted to, which made Sive feel even worse about laughing. She looked at Pyxis, and managed a smile to try and make it up to her.
"Thanks, Pyx," she said, "really, it means a lot." If she was honest, Sive knew she wouldn't talk about her parents, not with Pyxis, probably not with anyone. She didn't really like talking about her feelings, and these feelings especially she didn't want to open up about. They were private. James could understand, she knew, and that was enough. She didn't need to talk to him about it.

But really she'd had enough of well wishers, and of being treated like the grieving daughter. The house had been full of them the day of the funeral, and all her teachers and friends had been the same when she arrived back. She would really like a change in subject...

And then, yet again, Pyxis provided it. Although this time it was onto decidedly safe territory. No wars, no parents. Just Quidditch.

Sive frowned slightly as she realised she wasn't entirely sure.
"Umm..." She said, trying to think, "you know what, I'm not sure. We'll be ready, I know that much." She tried to think if James had said anything during practices. "We'll be playing Slytherin," she said, remembering how James had been going on lately. 'Slytherin will be practising', 'Slytherin chasers can do that move'... "Although that might change." The line-up was never completely set this early in the year.

[PYXIS ELLADORA BLACK]

Sive seemed to snort a laugh when Pyxis said her parents died sucked, and while Sive herself almost looked like she felt bad, Pyxis felt herself chuckling along slightly. It was a pretty understated and blunt way to put it, and Pyxis was thankful that her friend was laughing rather than looking off in the distance. She didn’t want to create any unnecessary space between them, not now. And then Sive thanked her and told her it meant a lot, and Pyxis smiled at her, shrugging lightly.

”That’s what friends are for, right?” she said with a grin, showing Sive that she wasn’t at all offended or hurt by her laughter. She’d much rather have Sive laughing that angry or sad or distant. And it was nice to laugh with her, steering away from the serious stuff like war and her parents. They were never really serious people to begin with. Ever.

She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose her parents to dragonpox. She’d lost Sirius by choice, and she wasn’t sure which abandonment was worse. Was it worst to be left by the force of death or by choice? She wasn’t sure there would ever be a definite answer to that, and she buried the thoughts as quickly as they’d arrived. She didn’t need to think about all of those things now. They could move the conversation into different, safe territory; territory that they were both familiar with and could laugh about. They’d had quite enough of serious talk for the time being. Quidditch was a nice change of pace, and Pyxis watched as Sive frowned. She probably didn’t know when the first match was. Oh, Jamesy would probably kill her if he knew that. Or, he might try, at least.

Pyxis grinned as she said she wasn’t sure, but that she thought they’d be playing Slytherin. Those matches were always her favorite because either way someone she liked one, though admittedly she did prefer a Gryffindor win than a Slytherin one. It was so much easier to give Rabastan shit about losing than it was Sive. Though, Rab sometimes took the joking personally, which made Pyxis feel only a little bit bad about it.

”Well if you do play good old Slytherin house, do make sure you kick their ass,” she said with a smirk. There was almost nothing better than tormenting Rabastan Lestrange about a Quidditch loss. Almost nothing.

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