My Favourite Pastime || Eadric & Talaith

[EADRIC JAMES AVERY]

Eadric was in the Library, brooding.

Things with Lyra lately had been... well, different. She had started to see a boy, Liam, and Eadric wasn't happy about it. Not only was he not sure that the boy was right for her, but he really didn't think that a relationship was what she needed right now, and it took away from the time the two of them could spend together. Eadric was used to it just being the two of them, but now this other person had entered her life. It made him uncomfortable, like his twin was being taken away from him. He wanted Lyra to be happy, but on the other hand he was worried that this whole thing could end up making her miserable.

Eadric was flipping through a transfiguration book, landing finally on the section on Animagi. He had toyed with the idea for a while now, the idea of becoming an Animagus. He had read about it extensively, but he wasn't sure how to go about doing it. He didn't want to go to Professor McGonagoll about it, or the new transfiguration teacher, because then they of course would know that he was an Animagus, if he ever made it that far. It wasn't that he particularly wanted to be an unregistered (and therefore illegal) Angimagus, its just that if people knew about it then it could well interfere with his main reason for wanting to be one in the first place.

If he was an Animagus he could go with Lyra when she changed at the full moon. He'd be able to keep her company, and stop her from getting too frustrated in her wolf form, from scratching and biting herself. But he was sure none of the Professors would condone the idea. Eadric already went down to the whomping willow every time Lyra changed, and after so many years he was allowed to take charge of it himself. Teachers didn't have to accompany him, and he was allowed to wait there (as per his insistence). But if the Hogwarts teachers knew he was an Animagus, they'd guess his intentions in a heart beat. He would no longer be allowed to go alone with Lyra to the whomping willow, and he might not even be allowed to stay there and wait for her, for fear he might transform and slip through after her.

But Eadric hated not being an Animagus. He was sure it was the best way to help Lyra, and he hated that he wasn't doing absolutely everything possible for her.

Lying next to him, unopened, was a book on the French language. He had gotten it down thinking he might skim through it and pick up a few words, and maybe he'd understand what that prick Liam Ward was saying half the time... but he'd gotten too preoccupied with his musings about Lyra and Animagi to open it.

[TALAITH ELIN CARDIFF]

Tali had gone for her morning run and showered, and now she was headed to the library to do a bit of homework. Running had become a normal routine for her in the early hours of the morning, but she very rarely did it in her human form. Instead, she would get up before the sun, walk out to the woods, morph into her coyote form and go running. Somehow it was much more fun as a coyote. She saw so much more, heard so much more, felt so much more.

She'd undress, hide her clothes in a log, go for a run until the sun started to come up, and then she'd go back and get dressed, shower, and start her day. It was quite a fun routine, really. She'd registered with the central authority just last year, so now she was as free as a... well, coyote, to do whatever she wanted, so long as she didn't harm students. Still, despite her being an animagus she didn't really go around bragging about it, even though she could. McGonagall had asked her if she might want to do some kind of guest lecture on the trials of becoming an animagus, because Merlin were there trials. She told her she would get back to her. She wasn't sure how many people she'd want to know she was an animagus, but at the same time she loved the ability, and she really enjoyed talking about it. Maybe a guest lecture wouldn't be that bad.

She pushed the idea off entirely though as she entered the library. It was a relatively quiet afternoon, but there weren't too many open seats available at the tables. So, she settled for one that was kind of near, but not directly across from a boy that seemed to be brooding terribly over... something. She furrowed her eyebrows in half-confusion at him but paid him no mind and started her Transfiguration work. It was easily her favorite subject, and as such it was easily the easiest. She began reading up on the essay she'd have to write and began scribbling down a few notes here and there. What would a good starting point be? What were the more important details to include, etc. etc.

But for some reason her eyes couldn't stay away from the brooding boy for every long, and finally she understood why. She stared for a moment at the book he was reading and smiled a bit to herself. Her eyes also found the book of French next to him and smirked slightly. And finally her curiosity got the better of her. She was a Ravenclaw after all, and he was in her house.

"So do you think your inner animal's a french poodle then?" she asked loud enough for him to hear, a smirk spread across her face. It wasn't much of a conversation starter, but it was something. "I'm Tali."

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[EADRIC JAMES AVERY]

Eadric looked up as he heard a voice, at first not sure that it was aimed at him. But then he saw a blonde girl sitting across from him, and she was looking right at him. He paused for a moment, not having quite registered what she had said. It took a second for his brain to catch up to his ears. But when it did, he let out a slight laugh.
"No, not quite," he said, glancing at the French book and realising how she could have drawn that conclusion. In all honesty, Eadric had no idea what his animal would be. Of course, he hoped that if he ever did become an animagus that whatever he turned into was a match for a Werewolf, because otherwise Lyra might not want him around her, in case something went wrong. That was why she didn't let him into the shrieking shack with her now. But he knew your animal came from who you are as a person, not what you wanted it to be.

Eadric had never given much thought to who he was. He always had other things to focus on, like Lyra. Especially Lyra. He'd been so focused on her for the past several years that he hadn't given much thought to himself.

But somehow, call it a hunch, he didn't think he'd be a poodle.

The girl said her name was Tali, and now that he looked at her he recognised her. Talaith was in Ravenclaw, in the year above him. He'd never spoken to her, but then again he rarely spoke to anyone, other than Lyra. Lyra's condition made it hard to make friends, but that was just fine with him. Lyra was worth a hundred of them, anyway.

It wasn't often that people spoke to him, because Eadric had a reputation for being a moody bastard, not to mention a record of getting into fights to defend his sister. A lot of people really didn't like him. He wondered if Tali just hadn't heard any of that. It seemed unlikely that she wouldn't have heard the gossip about 'The Werewolf'.

"I'm Eadric," he said, simply, in reply.

[TALAITH ELIN CARDIFF]

The boy looked up, slightly startled and Tali couldn't help but smile. And then he registered what she'd said and let out a laugh, and she chuckled lightly with him. Truth be told, she couldn't imagine what kind of person would have the inner animal of a french poodle. They'd probably be dreadfully annoying, yippy, if you will... and frizzy. They would absolutely have to be frizzy.

The thought made her smirk as she scribbled a few more things down for her essay and waited for the boy to introduce himself. He said his name and something clicked inside her head. He was the boy that had gotten into all of those fights a few years back.... when his sister became a Werewolf. She frowned slightly at the thought. She couldn't imagine having to go through the same transformation as a werewolf. It was dangerous and painful and dreadful. No, no, being an animagus was undoubtedly better than that. Her heart tugged slightly for Eadric's sister... if she was indeed a werewolf.

She stayed quiet for a minute, the slightest bit unsure of where they went from here. She looked back to her work for a moment, scribbling down a few more things before her eyes were back on Eadric. She looked at him for a moment, the question on the tip of her tongue. She was unsure of if she should push him further. She'd heard stories about what he was like when he got angry, or when someone insulted his sister. She'd not want to experience that rage, no matter how capable she may have been at handling it.

"So what would it be, do you think? You seem like the strong silent type. Maybe an elk, or a bear. Oh Merlin you'd be terrifying as a bear," she said with a laugh, looking back down at her work once more. Part of her was surprised she could get this much work done and talk at the same time, but she'd become a good multi-tasker over the years. So really she shouldn't have been that surprised, and yet every time she glanced down and there were more words on the page she grinned, satisfied with her progress.

"Have you ever thought about becoming one?" she asked with a sly grin. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her that morning. Maybe it was because she knew he was interested in animagi and she wanted to brag, but for some reason the more she talked to him, which admittedly had only been for... well, not very long, the more and more she felt she wanted to tell him about her secret.

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[EADRIC JAMES AVERY]

Eadric hadn't really expected Tali to continue talking, and was slightly wary when she did. But that wasn't her fault. That was just how he was. Slightly wary of everyone. It stemmed from being so protective of Lyra. He was wary of everyone around her, in case someone might hurt her. Yes, it was unlikely, but so was being bitten by a Werewolf. Highly unlikely. Of course, Lyra hadn't been bitten by chance.

Either way, that wariness was hard to turn off. It spilled over into the rest of his life. Maybe that was why so few people approached him; he was thoroughly unapproachable.

She said that he would make a good bear, and Eadric chuckled slightly.
"That would work," he said. A bear would easily be able to handle itself around a Werewolf. Even Lyra wouldn't be able to deny that. Although he'd have a time of it making it through the tunnel as a bear...

He was getting far too wrapped up in the details, when he wasn't even an animagus, and if he was he probably wouldn't be a bear. And besides, she had also suggested an Elk. That seemed like an odd animal to him.

"And what would you be?" he said, more out of common courtesy than anything. He wasn't particularly sociable, but he wasn't rude... well, no, that wasn't true, when he was in a bad mood he could be very rude. Right now he was still brooding over Lyra, but he wasn't especially pissed off.

The girl asked if he'd ever thought about becoming one, and he looked at her shrewdly. Lyra was the one who was good at reading people (and lying), but Eadric wasn't exactly hopeless. He wasn't sure if telling Tali was a good idea... but then again, it would probably never happen.
"I wouldn't know where to start," he admitted, which was at least truthful, even if not a full answer.

[TALAITH ELIN CARDIFF]

Tali grinned as Eadric said a bear would work, glad that at least her suggestions may not have been completely off. Well, they still could be entirely off, but at least he didn't hate her suggestions. She smirked as he asked what she would be. She grinned at him, though it was more of a knowing grin than a smile as she pretended to think for a moment. The truth took no thought at all.

"A coyote," she said simply, but there was a sureness to her voice that hadn't been present before. The difference being she knew she was a coyote. There was no guesswork involved. It was a simple fact. For her, at least, but Eadric didn't know that. At her question of whether or not he'd ever thought of becoming one he looked at her a bit oddly, almost like he couldn't trust her. She tilted her head toward him lightly, wondering what he was thinking.

Well sure she didn't expect Eadric to trust her. They'd only just met, but she hadn't exactly asked him his in depth family history or what his darkest secret was, either. She asked him a question that was a relatively simple question. But eventually he answered and said that he wouldn't even know where to start. She'd been in the middle of writing another sentence in her essay when her eyes lifted from the paper to meet his.

"It starts like everything else, Eadric, with a wand," she said simply with a laugh, smirking at him, wondering if he would catch on or if he thought she was just being cheeky.

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[EADRIC JAMES AVERY]

She replied instantly. A Coyote. She knew what she would be, without having to think. Either she'd thought about this before, or...

A Coyote seemed like such an unlikely animal. Most people, most girls in particular, when speculating on their inner animal, would imagine something wonderful and unique, something pretty. A Coyote wasn't particularly pretty. But they were scrappy, and they were tough. Eadric thought a Coyote was a good animal to be.

"That's a good one..." he said, casually, smiling slightly.

Then she said it started with a wand.

"Well, you would know," he looked straight at her, "right?" She wasn't being terribly discrete about all of this... of course, Eadric could have gotten it all wrong. It was unlikely, wasn't it, an Animagus at Hogwarts? Wouldn't he have heard? Maybe she was unregistered? Or maybe he just had animagi on the brain, and was over thinking things. He had read about them a lot, he had thought about becoming one. Maybe Tali had simply done the same. He knew that your patronus often mirrored your animagus form. Perhaps she had just managed to produce a corporeal patronus (unlikely in itself, but more possible than becoming an animagus) and was basing it on that.

If he was wrong, and she wasn't an animagus, if she didn't know what he was going on about, then he could play it off as nothing. He was only kidding. But if she did know, acting as though he saw right through her was probably the best way to get to the truth. And Eadric was interested in any student who had managed it.

[TALAITH ELIN CARDIFF]

She grinned proudly as Eadric said that a coyote was a good animal to be. She thought so, too. They were scrappy and tough and adapted to survival, all of which were at the core of who Tali was as a person.

"I think it's a pretty great animal, too," she replied honestly. It wasn't the usual animal that came to mind for most girls and their animagi form, or their patronus. Most girls would probably rather have something... prettier, daintier, innocent. A deer, a swan, a bloody butterfly. But Talaith Cardiff was far from all of those things. She was no deer or swan or butterfly. She had never been dainty. She supposed she had been innocent once, but that was so long ago it may as well have been another life. She was innocent no more, and she knew she never would be again.

For a brief second the sound of her sister's screams entered her head and her heart beat faster in her chest. She kept her face cool calm and collected as she looked toward her essay, scribbling down a few lines and pushing the sound far, far from her mind . She didn't need to think about that now. She didn't need to think about that ever, ever again. The blood, the screams, the pain. No, no, no! She pushed the thoughts to the furthest spot in her mind and locked it tight under lock and key.

And then Eadric said something that piqued her interest.

"You would know, wouldn't you?"

She looked at him for a moment a million responses flooding her mind all at once. She looked at him very seriously for a moment before quirking a brow at him.

"Maybe I would and maybe I wouldn't," she said with a smirk. "But for the sake of argument, though I do love a good argument, let's just say I would know. What's it to you?" she grinned at him.

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[EADRIC JAMES AVERY]

Tali spoke as though she were being mysterious, and Eadric smiled. He was pretty sure his instinct had been right. If he had been wrong, she would have just asked him what he was on about, or flat out denied it. She hadn't confirmed it either, but maybe she was testing him, as he was here. Seeing how comfortable she was with talking to him, without really giving anything away.

Eadric looked down at his book, turning a page lazily, looking at the words but not really seeing them. Instead he was thinking. If Talaith was an Animagus, if she had become one, then that would mean that it was possible for a student to do. He could do it, too. Of course, he had no idea of what kind of help she had had. Maybe McGonagall...

But what did it matter to him, if she was an animagus? He had known already that it was possible. Plenty of people did it. And he was intelligent, skilled at magic, so why not him? But still, even though he couldn't see yet why it would matter that Tali was an animagus, he still wanted to explore the idea and see what it yielded.

She spoke in hypothetical's, and he smiled slightly.
"Okay..." he said, "for the sake of argument, you are an animagus. And lets just say, for the sake of argument, that I was interested in becoming an animagus myself..." he smiled at her, raising an eyebrow slightly as though to say 'purely hypothetical...'

"What exactly would your being an animagus be to me?" He posed her own question back to her, still smiling slightly.

[TALAITH ELIN CARDIFF]

Tali watched as Eadric smiled, and she was almsot thankful for the boy's brooding nature to be gone. He'd seemed so sullen before, so she was glad to see some kind of happiness from him. She waited for him to answer her hypothetical question, and she found herself laughing gently as he threw another hypothetical back at her. His raised brow had her smiling all the more. This guy wasn't so bad, she wasn't so sure why everyone seemed so bent on staying away from him. Then again, maybe she just had something he wanted - the power to transform.

She quite enjoyed how obvious and cryptic this conversation was all at the same time. She was glad that Eadric decided to go along with her little game. Inwardly she wondered what he was thinking about her, about what she was saying. Did he believe her? Obviously he did... but it was weird that he didn't want proof of some kind. She could be talking directly out of her rear end for all he knew. But, Tali was never a particularly good liar. The truth was just easier to deal with, and while she didn't want her secret out to everyone, Eadric certainly seemed like the type who'd be able to keep a secret.

He turned her question back around on her and she grinned at him, shrugging lightly. "Hypothetically speaking, I guess I could show you the ropes... If you wanted to be an animagus, that is," she offered with a shrug as if the statement were nothing at all. But, if he wanted to be an animagus and he was too shy to go to McGonagall then she would help him.

She scribbled a few more words to her essay and grinned, deciding she'd had enough fun working now. So she rolled up her piece of parchment and placed the quill back in its ink well, looking at Eadric with a sly kind of smile.

"But... for the sake of argument, wouldn't you want proof?" she asked with a smile. She thought back to how McGonagall wanted her to give a guest lecture to her classes. If she was able to teach Eadric, then giving any kind of guest lecture would truly be a walk in the park. But it would not be an easy process, that was certain.

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[EADRIC JAMES AVERY]

Well, now Eadric was absolutely certain. She was an animagus. Either that, or she was a bare faced liar. Maybe she wanted attention, or was trying to impress him. But Eadric didn't think that was the case. If it was, he'd be very angry. But innocent until proven guilty.

She all but said that she was an animagus, and that if he wanted to become one who, she could show him. Eadric's interest was really piqued now. This could be the solution to his animagus problem. He was sure that a student wouldn't insist he got registered, not like a teacher. A fellow student would see it as his business whether or not he wanted to break the law. Unless of course, she was a real busy body.

"Well," he continued, "hypothetically, if you were an animagus, and I wanted to become one, and you were going to 'teach me the ropes'," he smiled. Quite the 'hypothetical' tale they had spun. "Then yes, I would most definitely want proof."

He didn't think Tali was lying, but he would feel a lot more sure once he saw her transform into a coyote.

For a moment he thought of going to get Lyra, if Tali was going to give him 'proof'. Lyra would be really interested in all of this, and she'd love to see someone transform into an animal. He thought it would be a nice change of pace for her. But then, he thought, if he was going to try to become an animagus, he didn't want Lyra to know about it. He wouldn't want her to get her hopes up, or worry, or say it was a bad idea. If he failed, he didn't want to let her down. So he wouldn't go and get Lyra.

"Hypothetically, I might even suggest you prove it to me now." He didn't mean right here, in the library. If he didn't know about an animagus, then he doubted anyone else would. He may not be in on all the gossip, but he was sure he would have heard about that. If she wanted to show him proof, they could go somewhere else.

[TALAITH ELIN CARDIFF]

¬¬

Tali listened, endlessly entertained by the hypothetical but completely real conversation she was having with Eadric. It all sounded so completely… well, ridiculous. If you were an animagus and you were going to teach me how blah blah blah. It was nothing short of a ridiculous conversation, but Tali could see the excitement in his eyes as he thought about being taught to become an animagus. She was curious as to why he wanted to become an animagus in the first place, but that question could wait until later, when they were having a more “real” conversation. He said that of course he would want proof and Tali smiled at him. She could give him all the proof he needed.

Eadric didn’t even really know Tali. She could be lying through her teeth. She was completely capable of doing so, too, but… she didn’t like to make a bad impression, and spinning a tale this large would certainly brand her as a liar for life. A pathological one at that. Good thing she wasn’t lying then, wasn’t it? She stared at him for a moment as he said he’d hypothetically want proof right now. She looked at him, and glanced around the library, her eyebrows furrowing together , looking at Eadric as if he were crazy for only a moment.

And then she realized he didn’t mean right here, right now. She smirked at him before glancing down to her rolled up essay she’d just written, grinning.

”Well let’s go then,” she said, grabbing her essay and stowing it in her bag before rising from the table, walking back toward the door through which she’d come a few minutes earlier. She stood at the doorway, looking at Eadric as if asking him if he were going to follow or not before she disappeared out the door, heading toward the Entrance Hall, and out towards the forest. This was going to be very interesting, and very fun.

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[EADRIC JAMES AVERY]

Eadric watched Tali after he said he'd want proof now. If she was making all of this up, if she really was just a terrible liar, trying to impress him, then this would be where it all fell apart. She'd either make an excuse, or come clean... or maybe she'd take him somewhere and transform into an animal.

He was taken aback as she stood up suddenly, stowing the essay she had been writing in her bag. She had made it to the door before he fully realised what was going on.

Eadric looked at the books he had out, neither of them his and neither of them books he had checked out. Really, he should put them back on the shelves, but... he could leave them.

He stood up, grabbing his bag, ignoring the curious looks he got. Eadric Avery, talking to someone other than his sister? Actually leaving the library with her? It was all very out of character, and the other Ravenclaws in the library knew it. Eadric hurried towards the door as Tali vanished through it.

Moving at a slight jog, he caught up with her in the entrance hall.
"What's the rush?" he said, although personally he didn't mind rushing. He wanted to see this.

They left the castle, and started heading towards the forest. Eadric smiled slightly. That was the perfect place. The day was crisp, and if Eadric had known he would be going outside then he would have brought his cloak. But he didn't complain; he didn't mind the cold, and he was used to it. Sometimes it got very cold, waiting for Lyra by the Whomping Willow all night.

The two of them made it under the cover of the forest, and after they had walked in a little bit, Eadric stopped.
"Well, hypothetically, I think this is where you would show me," he said, grinning.