Don't you dare look back | September '78 | (Doc)

[Hestia Jones]

2 September 1978

It wasn't a normal Saturday. It was the first Saturday of her final year, and the day after they had all returned to Hogwarts. The train ride to school had been a good time, but it had also been a bit strange. Most of her friends were there, crammed in the same tiny compartment, discussing their summers. But some of those friends were missing, and it had been even more evident. Her big sister hadn't been at the dinner table, and she wasn't down here with a box of cereal either.

Hestia had known that Willa wouldn't be returning, but it was just so strange to be the 7th year now. But it wouldn't be good to dwell on her concerns about her last year, or to worry too much about Willa. She knew her sister was doing just fine, even with all of the scary events she had heard about. So, Hestia gave a smile as she stared at the near empty common room, settling down on the couch with her box of cereal and a bowl with milk she had nicked from the kitchens.

Comfortable in one of her favorite pairs of pajamas, Hestia sunk down into the couch, pushing her dark hair from her face as she adjusted the glasses on her face before spooning as much cereal into her mouth as she could. She had to reckon that she probably wasn't the most attractive sight at the current moment in time, but she was never super concerned about how she looked. Boys had always seemed to be interested in her, which had led to a few interesting dates over the years.

Giving a contented sigh, she smiled as she observed the quiet common room. This was going to be a great year.

[Doc Dearborn]

Doc rolled out of bed, having had the best last first night’s sleep. Always slept better in his bunk here than at home - the Hufflepuff quarters were so comfortable, really, and he had his mates here and, most importantly, he had no reason to be on edge. He hated that feeling, it was so against what he wanted out of his days, but he was tempted towards it when with his family. His little sister Rhi was the peacemaker, and at fourteen Doc knew it wasn’t fair for her to have to tackle the awkwardness between himself and their folks - but she did it, wanted to do it, and he loved her for that and so much more. But Rhi? She was growing into a young woman before his eyes, now starting her fourth year, and although Doc kept his worries at an absolute minimum...couldn’t help but worry a touch about the girl. He knew himself at fourteen, after all, and it would be absurd for a bloke to not make a move on her soon. She’d be just fine - always was, whatever happened - and he wanted her to experience her life...but it was just weird and wonderful to see her blossom.

But such was life, Doc mused, pulling on a T-shirt and leaving his room barefoot and sleepy-haired, following the familiar tunnel out to the common room in search of a particular friend. Things changed, people changed, and time went on, no matter what you had to say about it - or what artificial, magical twist you wanted to employ - and all you could do was appreciate that you were here to see what you were seeing.

Thankfully, he thought as his face broke into a smile, as much as things changed, some things stayed the same, and what he now saw was easy enough to appreciate. Hestia, in her pajamas, enjoying a bowl of cereal in the hazily sunny common room, was something he’d never tire of seeing. The beautiful tiny thing was one of his greatest friend if not his best - not that he liked to put such qualifiers on something as organic as friendship - and he was more than glad to see her here. Not that Doc would’ve been opposed to tracking her down in her dorm and surprising her, but there was something undeniably comforting about seeing her here.

"Bore da, fy anwylyd,*" he greeted familiarly as he neared her, giving the girl a kiss on the top of her mussed hair once he could. His grin widened as he mischievously snagged her box of cereal and summoned a bowl from his room, plopping onto the couch next to her and letting the cushion take him in, before catching the large bowl and...giving a generous pre-breakfast-meal pour into it.

"Have a few boxes for us in my room, loves," he reassured her with a wink, settling into the back of the couch after he set down the empty box. He wasn’t that poor of a friend, surprise the girl and steal all her food without replacements ready. "Figured I’d find you here. Good night’s sleep?" He looked over at her curiously as he scooped some of the cereal into his hand, soon munching away. He'd wanted to check in with her today, make sure she was transitioning all right. It was strange, coming to Hogwarts without their older friends, but Doc knew this girl - she'd be thinking a lot more about that than he was, so if there was anything he could do to cheer her up after this feeling of loss - although they weren't really losing anybody, not really - he'd do it. Which was also a strange feeling, but one the bloke knew in his gut to be true. Usually he trusted that his friends would take care of themselves, and he'd be along for the ride, helping naturally if something came up, but...she had a bit of his heart, this one, a bit more than most. Seeing her happy was important, especially when the only thing possibly making her less than was change, his topic of thought for the morning...

"The north becomes the south, the south becomes the north. The east is also the west, and the west is also the east. It depends. It depends on where you are looking..."

*good morning, my dear

[Hestia Jones]

Hestia was zoning out, enjoying the coziness of the common room. It was still early enough that not a lot of people were awake, just a few passing through to go get breakfast from the Great Hall. Which would be exactly what she would be doing after some cereal. Going out of the common room generally required putting on real pants, something she despised doing on a Saturday morning.

So it wasn't as if Doc's approach startled her, as she had seen him from the corner of her eye. She just hadn't been entirely paying attention to who it was. Wrinkling her nose, she stuck out her tongue as he kissed her head, glad that he was sitting down next to her. "Good morning to you too, lovely." She watched with amusement as he poured the rest of the cereal into a bowl he had summoned from, presumably, his room. How he could eat it without milk, she really had no idea.

"You better, my dear Doctor. Or the punishment is," Hestia paused, actually unsure of what she would do if he didn't have more cereal for her. "Okay, so I haven't gotten that far. But it'll be something, you bet your butt. And yea, I slept alright. You? Glad to be home?" Hestia knew his family wasn't easy for him to be around, Hogwarts was a much happier place. She settled further down into the couch, resting her head against his shoulder as she continued to spoon cereal into her mouth.

"What fun things should we get up to today?"

[Doc Dearborn]

Doc's smile broadened as he got an easy reaction out of her, just happy to be back with this one, even if she was now trying to verbalize some sort of threat. Although he and his friends nearly all had had their Apparition licenses for the full summer (curse Peasegood for having such a late birthday), they weren't the best planners, so time together hadn't happened as much as he'd've liked. No one to blame but himself, really, for not escaping home enough - but since he and Rhi were gone all the rest of the year, he felt he did need to spend most of the summer months at his legal home. His parents spent much time at the University over the summer even, taking advantage of not teaching to work with graduate students and other professionals on research and paper-writing. But he and Rhi were wanted there - even if they were chided by their diminutive mother for playing hide-and-seek in the engineering labs and soon sent to work doing this or that for her team.

Some days, though, after he did a lunch run for the other four and they'd make time to chat as a family, Doc would follow his feet away from the College of Physical Sciences to the Humanities buildings. He'd walk walks that so many had tread before him, free to think and explore the world in the way he so enjoyed and felt pulled to do. Stuck in a dark lab "helping" his mam with mechanics - while better than watching his dad work out equations - did anything but stimulate his mind, however busy his capable hands got. It wasn't that the stuff was too dense for him to understand, or that he felt it was unnecessary in the grand scheme of the world - her work would help increase automotive safety, imperative for muggles - but it just...wasn't for him.

"Home, indeed," he said with a knowing smile down at her, readjusting to fit an arm around Hestia as she settled against him. "Besides the current unknown punishment for my potential failure as a friend, doing just fine," he joked, tickling her through her pajamas as he did. Bowl in lap, he kept munching, greatly enjoying the simplicity of this. At home, he and Rhi had been raised during his parents' work hours by a lovely Welsh nanny, Olwyn, who had always insisted on full breakfasts. Doc had no complaints on this front - although he did find it a mite peculiar that Olwyn was still working for them over summers, as he was fully capable of making meals and ensuring Rhi was taken care of  - but it was a nice change of pace, having this leisurely wake-up with Hestia on the couch, rather than a full meal at the dining table that he had better finish.

"I could be convinced to spend this day doing...any multitude of things, Hes," he said truthfully at her question, giving Hestia a bit of a squeeze. It was true - really didn't much matter to Doc what he did that day, as long as it was spent with those he'd missed. He had quite a history with her, but one thing remained constant, just like finding her on Saturday mornings with her cereal - they always had a good time, whether that was palling around outside, reading, people watching, or engaging in the occasional snog. Nothing better than a girl who just got you in so many ways, and Doc knew he'd been lucky to find that in such a grand person like her. "Any requests for our first Saturday back? My only vote is pajamas, not much feeling the whole getting dressed thing. Maybe by Monday, just to humor poor Sprout," he continued with a rumbling laugh.

[Hestia Jones]

This summer had been an eventful one, all of them showing off their new found skills by popping to see each other whenever the fancy struck. But it was different with Doc and his family, it wasn't as simple. Muggles weren't allows to know about magic, not unless it was a special case. And while his parents did know, due to him and his sister, Hestia couldn't simply pop into his house. It wouldn't have been proper.

So they had seen each other a few times, but not nearly as much as Hestia would have liked. He was her best friend, even though sometimes her heart liked to remind her that he had been so much more. And could be so much more, as her heart fluttered when he adjusted to wrap his arm around her. She couldn't help but squirm as he tickled her, and she stuck her tongue out in response.

"Just continue to provide me with cereal and I think we can work something out," she smirked. Taking her spoon from her bowl, she scooped some cereal from his and dumped it into her remaining milk, pushing it down so that it would become soggy.

She grinned as he replied to her question, contemplating the multitude of things they could get up to. With their common room being so close to the kitchens, it would be easy for them to sneak food all day. It would be nice to avoid a big group of people in the Great Hall when she was hungry later. And they were the top dogs this year, so it wasn't as if anyone was going to question it. "Are you sure we have to get dressed Monday? I feel like as 7th years we are expected to break the rules, and getting dressed is one I am perfectly ok with. After all we have N.E.W.T.S this year. Who has time to get dressed when they have to do boring things like study?"

She leaned forward to place her bowl on the table in front of them, snuggling back up to Doc afterwards. "Pajamas sounds like the best plan. And maybe naps later. Too bad Tommy and Arnie are cool enough to be in Hufflepuff."

[Doc Dearborn]

"Good good, nice to know you're still easy to please," Doc replied with a laugh as she helped herself to some of the cereal he'd taken. And he was all aboard for the majority of her next, but -

"C'mon, loves," he said as a groan, head to the top of hers as he let out a sigh after her mention of N.E.W.T.s. It was so far away, those exams, and something Doc truly didn't want to use his head for today. "It's day one, please don't speak of such things. But who are you? Breaking rules, I love it. Pajamas until we piss someone off? And then form a revolution - a paja...mution. Working title. But if anyone can convince the students of this castle of the necessity of comfort and the superiority of pajamas to most things in life, I think we can do it." 

Hes finished up her cereal, cozying into him after, and the bloke was awfully content as she sat there with him, so small and warm, and spoke about what she wanted from their day. When exactly most days had become "theirs," Doc wasn't exactly sure, but it was rather automatic. However, he had to give a laugh, because -

"They're grand, they are," Doc continued with a knowing smirk, "but if they were here too, can't imagine they'd want to share in our naps. But I am tired - " Cue an exaggerated yawn, and, " - may just take you for a pre-breakfast nap right now." He gave the girl a playful raise of his brows, fine with whichever way she was interpreting him. Over the years they had napped together and, when she wasn't officially - oh how humanity so required labels - with anybody, they had napped together when the feeling struck. It was sort of known and just sort of happened that way, that they'd always find their way back to each other, stretch their friendship to help each other meet other needs as well. It was just comfortable with Hes, always was - no expectations, no labeled ties (although there was no doubt he was tied to her through the heart, but some sort of name to what they were just didn't feel like them); they knew the other well enough that whether a nap was innocent or not, they were Hestia and Doc when they went in, and Hestia and Doc when they came out.

And the other blokes? Much as Doc loved them, they weren't - as Hes had so well said - cool enough to be in Hufflepuff. They were awesome in their own ways, but they simply wouldn't fit here - likely go mad within a few days, much too high strung for the amiable way of the badger. Plus, with them elsewhere in the castle, and the four of them being so close...Doc's thoughts drifted to wondering how that would have been, if they all had been in the same House. Would he and Hestia be the way they were if the others had shared his room? If they never had any space from each other? Doc figured he could get along with just about anyone, but he rarely heard good things from the others about their roommates, besides Benji from Arnie - if the three of them had shared a space, would the others gripe about the state he left it in? Find things about him that they didn't like, things that interfered with their friendship? It was a curious thing to ponder, truly - but as he'd just half-jokingly suggested he and the girl snuggled into him go and snog, Doc blinked back to focus, smiling back down at her.

[Hestia Jones]

She had known that mentioned the N.E.W.T. exams would get a reaction out of Doc, and she couldn't help but grin as he complained about her bringing them up with a little nudge to her head. Her grin only grew and changed into laughter as used the phrase 'pajamution'. There was no way that was a real thing, although it was a concept that she could easily get behind. Convincing the entire castle that pajamas were the one and only form of clothing that was acceptable? She'd sign up for that pajamution anyday.

"Alright alright, no more talk of scary tests. And I'm insulted that you think I follow rules so closely. Have you even met me?" she teased, sticking out her tongue as if she was a child. "And when should we start this pajamution? Tomorrow? A week from now? You really need to have the details worked out before we start so I guess maybe a week from now would be better."

Arnie and Tommy really were grand, but Doc did have a valid point. While she had dated a few guys exclusively over the years (and snogged Tommy one time but that didn't really count), many of their naps involved very little sleeping. They were never official, it just wasn't how the two of them worked. But when she wasn't with someone, she was usually with Doc in some manner. She loved him to death, and things were never weird between them when they were "off". It worked for them, and she rolled her eyes as his exagretted yawn.

"A pre-breakfast nap? You have the best plans," she replied, before sticking her tongue out once more to poke him in the cheek with it. Weird? Yes, but that was simply the kind of person she was. Besides, he'd get his payback on her at some point. She was sure of that.

[Doc Dearborn]

Doc loved how quickly he was able to brainstorm with her - they just fed off of each other's ideas, always had, and it was a riot. Poor Mr. Head Boy, Thomas Joseph Wood, was soon to have a pajamution on his hands. A peaceful protest against the imposition of uniforms. It wasn't that their uniforms were bad - he felt he looked phenomenal in one, not that he tried - but they weren't comfortable. At least how they were supposed to wear them - how he'd gotten so many little detentions over the years, really, simply not abiding by the staunch rules about the silly things.

How they hadn't thought of this before was beyond him! He was glad Hestia was so on board, but buried his face in her shoulder as she spoke. "You set the details and I'll rally the folks," he decided, giving her shoulder a kiss before sitting back up to munch. His suggestion of the nap was well received, to say the least. Hestia was all for it and licking his cheek and he just -

"Yeah?" the boy said excitedly, a bit surprised and happily so. It'd been a few months, after all, and he wouldn't ever assume she'd be game - although, to be frank, both generally were. Hes was a grand snog and he loved being with her like that - they'd been at each other often enough to just know how the other liked it. Not that there weren't still surprises - one of the fine things about her dating and him being even more free and unattached while she was - and Doc was curious to see if anything had changed over the summer. He'd had a few run-ins with old summer flings and had enjoyed himself - but at Hogwarts? There were many beautiful girls here, absolutely. But he wanted to spend time with a girl doing everything - and that's who Hestia was. So with a grin he swiftly moved aside his nearly empty bowl and bent to kiss her, starting slow with a soft hand to her neck, not a qualm in the world about locking lips in the common room.

Life was short, and she was fantastic.

"Come along, caridad*," he said, voice low as he teasingly pulled away. But with the pair of them, laughs were never distant, and Doc let out a loud one as he continued. "Need to get you back for licking me!"

*sweetheart

[Hestia Jones]

They wouldn't possibly give detention to an entire group of students if they all wore pajamas, right? Hestia hadn't really ever thought about it this in depth before, but if this plan was to work she was going to have to. If they could convince enough people to join in this pajamaution then perhaps the teachers would just let it go. It was bad enough that had to wear itchy uniforms and be perfectly put together all the time. She did her best, but it was hard to care when your best friend was also just as unconcerned with keeping to the dress code.

She grinned as Doc buried his face in her shoulder, glad that this plan was just as interesting to him as it was to her. "Consider it done. We'll meet in the Entrance Hall in one week for the pajamaution! Tommy is going to be so annoyed." The thought of their friend, who had gained the title of Head Boy, staring down at a sea of pajama clad students in annoyance was an incredibly amusing image, and she giggled to herself while shaking her head.

It didn't matter how many times they had napped together, each experience was just as fun as the last. There was an unmistakable spark between them, something that wasn't always there whenever Hestia was with someone else. Not that her other experiences in life had been bad - but it was always just better with Doc. While having official boyfriends in the past had been fun, this laid back thing she shared with her best friend was her favorite. It wasn't stressful, it just was. And as he placed his hand on her neck and kissed her slowly, she couldn't help but be pleased.

Smirking as he pulled away, she laughed with him as his laugh carried throughout the common room. "Oh really now? We'll see about that," she teased, stretching as she stood up from the couch. Cereal bowls abandoned (it wasn't as if anyone would touch them) she held out her hand to Doc. "Lead the way Doctor Dearborn."

[Doc Dearborn]

"And that is how we will know of our success!" he exclaimed, agreeing to his friend's sentiment. Poor Tommy needed to be weaned into this Head Boy thing, after all - wouldn't it be better if his first big order of business to take care of was something orchestrated by a few of his closest friends? They'd be much easier to handle than people he wasn't close to, right?

Oh, this morning was just getting better and better. First she agrees to a nap, then she's smirking after the surprise kiss? Teasing him? We're back. Hes was stretching as she got to her bare feet, her pajamas protesting against containing her lithe little body just as they were to soon protest against uniforms. The former, however, was a protest that Doc knew would soon be put to rest if he had anything to do about it, while the results of the latter was a tad more uncertain. But they would find a way - annoying Tommy to the point of getting that forehead vein throbbing, he'd bet - they always did. So as the girl held her hand to him, big blue eyes just glowing in the morning light, Doc let himself be captured by them, a small smile of his own mirroring hers as he took her small hand in his.

He leaned closer, an intent look to him, and..."You really should call me Doctor more often," he joked, breaking the could-have-been-a-moment as he gave her a wide grin, her hand a tug.

Although he did mean it about the "Doctor" thing.

Kinda hot, y'know?

On their certifiable race through the tunnel to his dorm room, hand-in-hand, Doc's mind slipped back to his pondering of the morning, another line coming to him from one of his favorite's, one Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and thinker extraordinaire. "Things do not change; we change." As much as that was probably true, he hoped that neither he nor Hestia would change so much that moments like this would stop. That they would change, but not together - that they would change and drift. Change was as inevitable as a new day, but could their time together - something that was now so fun, so carefree - change just as surely as everything else was fated to?

You've just gotten back - no worries now, mate, come on, that's not your thing. Day-by-day-by-day. She's here, you're here, and it is what it is: amazing.

[Hestia Jones]

Tommy was going to give them hell for this later, but Hestia didn't care. Her mind was made up, and if no one else joined her in her rebellion against uniforms, at least Doc would. And if they had detention together, at least it would be fun. Although she would love to see the letter sent home to her parents about it. Normally they didn't write her if she ever received detention, content that she wasn't causing any sort of real havoc. But her first real rebellion against the man - wearing pajamas instead of a school uniform. She could almost imagine the smirk on her father's face at her antics.

But not was the not the time for those thoughts, there were much more exciting activities that were now on her schedule for today. Activities that didn't require her to wear anything, which was quite a thrilling idea. Doc leaned in close, and Hestia snickered at his comment. What was an off-hand joke that, really was quite a teasing comment. One that Hestia was going to be sure to remember and take advantage of in the future. "Oh, I'll keep that in mind. Don't you worry."

But for now she was happy following him to his dorm behind him, laughing as they moved through the tunnels. The world around them was changing, war was brewing. But right now, they had this. And that was what mattered, what she needed to concern herself with. She'd spent the summer overhearing conversations from her parents, hushed tones that weren't meant for her ears. But she couldn't focus on that - not then and not now. Now was time for fun, time to live. And that was what exactly what she planned on doing.