"It's fine, Stephen," Sarah said as she settled into the chair and looked about the room, her gaze falling on the bed and the state of it which, much like his clothing, did not really tell her more than he had been in it. She did understand - well, not understand in that sense, but could imagine in some way - why he would not be sleeping now most of all, but it made it no less of a concern for her.
"As long as parts of the room are getting used regularly," she continued as she looked up at him, the question she wanted to fuss about clear, even if unvoiced.
Stephen shrugged. "It is larger than the dormitory room, and more easily protected. It lacks in natural light, of course. I would not readily have asked you here." Nor did he mention the curious door that linked these quarters to the Ravenclaw dorm, enabling a knowledgeable person to bypass the dungeon corridors entirely. He sat in the chair opposite hers, waiting for the house-elf to bring back toast and tea. "And yet ... we were very happy here."
Not the answer she had been looking for, Sarah was quiet for a moment, lost in thought. She had prepared herself for the formerly unmentioned quarters to be the ones he had shared with River - after all, the dormitory had felt too much 'him' to be otherwise - but it was still a very odd, very disconcerting sensation to be here now. The happy revelation did not affect her as much as one might have imagined, simply because she had imagined them as happy even though she had no person to identifiably place in the happy situation with him. All of this still did not answer her question, so perhaps it needed to be asked directly.
"Have... you been sleeping at all?" she asked, leaning forward in the chair as she waited for the answer.
"Yes," Stephen said. "I have been sleeping rather a lot." He did not say that it was laudanum that permitted him to do so. She knew enough of his habits to guess anyway.
Sarah did indeed, and it was a conflicting kind of feeling she had on the matter knowing what she did. On one hand, if it was helping him sleep, she was glad of it but, if it was hurting him more, it was a whole new set of worries. However, it was not a discussion or battle she wanted to have now and hopefully not even in the future. She would pay careful attention in the meantime. So, that took care of sleep, food would be taken care of - for the moment - when the house-elf arrived. Hoping annoyance with her was not soon in coming, she decided to question about work in hopes of being useful.
"Do you have all the help you need as far as Potions?" she asked, resting her hands on the table. "I didn't know if you were the one who supplied them for the... anyplace in school that needs them, and maybe Ryuuji would need a second pair of hands to take care of any of those tasks. Or anything else, I make a very good gofer."
"Every werewolf is supplied with the necessary potion, Mistress Nutter has everything she needs, and if any unforeseen need should arise anywhere, Ryuuji is more than capable of meeting it." Stephen would never have permitted grief to stand in the way of duty. "Should you wish some sort of formal instruction from him? I do think it best that you not take part in the class as a whole given our known connexion, but that should not be allowed to deprive you of an education. I would be happy to work with you informally, and Ryuuji might find the time if you preferred something more formal ..." He was repeating himself, he realised. Fortunately the house-elf spared him further attempts, bringing a tray not only of toast and tea, but of several foods the elf knew Sarah liked.
Sleep, food, work.... mentally Sarah was checking them off as she listened, but was distracted by the arrival of the house-elf. Seeing the other foods on the tray, she smiled brightly at the creature. "Thank you, Aloysius II," she said kindly, finding momentary pleasure at the gesture. Maybe it did not mind delivering all those letters so much after all? She was still puzzled by the 'II' of his name - just had never asked the house-elf because she feared it rude. Deciding on the yoghurt with fruit to eat along with her toast, she set a bowl in front of her and then reach for some toast, sliding it onto a plate as she put jam on it. Rather than pull the plate to her, she nudged it in Stephen's direction as she spoke
( ... )
Stephen gave a snort of almost-laughter at that. "You should have seen the previous potions master. I declare the man must have had time to do nothing but give private lessons to all and sundry, or rather, to give them to anyone he thought might be worth cultivating for his own purposes. When he became popcorn and I took the position, I had quite a few of his former students asking me about such lessons; I was surprised at the number, though I should not have been." Absently he reached for the toast she had shoved toward him, and began munching. "What did you think of our potions class, the one you did attend?"
Sarah added jam to another piece of toast as she listened and held this piece in her hand rather than place it on the plate. Inwardly she flinched at the word 'popcorn,' but outwardly just ate part of her toast and then drew her wand to start whisking up crumbs, laying it next to her bowl in preparation for more mess, if last time with Stephen had been any indication - which she well imagined it was from the state of his room in Ravenclaw. She picked up her spoon, intending to ask about these private lessons he had been asked to carry on when he asked about his class
( ... )
Stephen liked nothing better than listening to people explain things that interested them, provided those were also things that interested Stephen, which Potions did. He listened so intently that he managed to eat three whole pieces of toast without thinking about it. He also managed to smear jam on the rolled-up cuffs of his wrinkled dress shirt, and to get a little bit of jam on his collar as well. "Care of Magical Creatures is nothing to be scoffed at either, if you will but remember the tribble infestation," he said.
Sarah grinned a bit at that. "Imagining the dungeons covered in little balls of fur is funny now, though I imagine it wasn't then," she said, twirling her spoon. "To think so much chaos likely started with one overfed Tribble. I'm surprised so many student are allowed to have them as pets, and that there haven't been more outbreaks." She propped her chin on her hand, looking at him. "This place is never boring, it seems, but most days I think I like it like that
( ... )
Still smiling a bit, Sarah went to work on the jam with first a napkin, then her wand. Brow furrowed a bit in concentration, but the stain was soon gone and she got out of her chair to work on the one on his collar she had spotted. Her fingertips on the fabric reminded her of something that lay beneath and a sort of sad that had nothing to do with guilt swept over her. She bit at her cheek for a moment to control it, angry at herself. She knew she certainly did not deserve and definitely had no right to feel sad in the least bit for someone she had never met whose husband she had fallen in love with and was with right now. Those emotions belonged to Stephen and those who had cared about River, not someone whose existence could have only hurt her. She kept herself busy with the collar, face close to hide the outer cheek bite, and stood back up when she was done and composed, adjusting his collar.
"There, doesn't mean you have to stop eating now, I'll," she gave him a small smile, "just do it again if needed."
From his time spent in India, Stephen was familiar with yoghurt, and knew what it was that Sarah had been eating. Idly he considered eating some, while she used cleaning charms to get rid of the jam splotches on his cuffs. An unpleasant jolt went through him at the touch to his shirt over the place where River had left her mark, and he repressed a shudder, shoving his chair back from the table roughly. "I have little appetite at present, thank you."
"I know, but thank you for eating what you did," Sarah said softly, resting her hand lightly on his shoulder. She wanted to say more and do more and knew she could not - realizing belatedly that even the act of cleaning his collar had overturned the small calm. She intended to weather the change, and would do so for every one as she was not here just for the better times. Desperately, and not for the first time by far, she found herself wishing for it to be different in whatever way it could be and that included a complete trade of places with River.
"As long as parts of the room are getting used regularly," she continued as she looked up at him, the question she wanted to fuss about clear, even if unvoiced.
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"Have... you been sleeping at all?" she asked, leaning forward in the chair as she waited for the answer.
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"Do you have all the help you need as far as Potions?" she asked, resting her hands on the table. "I didn't know if you were the one who supplied them for the... anyplace in school that needs them, and maybe Ryuuji would need a second pair of hands to take care of any of those tasks. Or anything else, I make a very good gofer."
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"There, doesn't mean you have to stop eating now, I'll," she gave him a small smile, "just do it again if needed."
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