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Every September first, the first years arrive at Hogwarts via boat, traveling from Hogsmeade station across the Black Lake and into the boathouse. The boathouse has three official entrances: the path outside the courtyard, the hidden stairs going down the cliff from the Great Hall entry, and, of course, the lake tunnel that also runs beneath the castle.
The boathouse stores the boats for the arriving first years and departing seventh years, but with permission from the Groundskeeper, you may be permitted to use one of the boats for an afternoon adventure. Life vests, oars, fishing tools, nets, and everything else you might need are either hanging on hooks on the wall or lying on the splintery wooden bench.
Please put everything back in its proper place, should you move stuff around. It's common courtesy to treat this old structure with respect.
Teapot Occamy| gryphons&giraffes&goats,OH MY | chaser of the truth | flutiful❧
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
Ash cared about what people thought of her. But she told herself she didn't, and she believed that lie. Who cared if this was lame? Not her. She "didn't care" about what other people thought.
"It's not silly to have wanted that. It's just unfeasible. Honestly, it would be silly to not want to run away." She had wanted to do it too. She wanted to swim, fly, teleport... anything to get away. Anything...
"Hey, nice fox!" She didn't notice the joke, but she liked the art. It was cute! It was a fox! It was on fire!
Ash laughed. "I bet we look ridiculous right now. But you know what, I don't care." She was gonna draw scenery. She was gonna sit in boats. She was gonna hang out with her friends. She was gonna admire the view out over the lake. And she wasn't going to be self-conscious about it.
Nobody was here to see but Devin anyway. Devin wouldn't laugh at her for this. Wasn't it nice to have good friends? Ash had gotten lucky. She had good friends like Devin, she had a good boyfriend, and she had an absolutely awesome little brother. Some people liked to mess life up for her, but they couldn't take everything.
Ash started drawing the surface of the water first. "What are you up to out here so early?" It was a question that could have easily been asked of her, but Ash already knew why she was here. Obviously.
”There’s a lot that was unfeasible. I wish it didn’t have to be that way.” People had told him time and time again that everything that happened last year wasn’t his fault but he still felt guilty for not being able to help his muggleborn friends as they got dragged away in front of him and as they were punished for something beyond their control while he had retained the privilege of “freedom” for his so-called “pure” blood. It just wasn’t right. Was it feasible that he, a 13 year old in his boxers, could have stood up against a man who had just knocked out a professor and his army of powerful adults who were kidnapping his friends? Of course not. But that didn’t stop the memories of that day from haunting him in his sleep. The nightmares had been really bad for his first month back at home, and again when he came back to Hogwarts. Sure, therapy and time helped, but that didn’t stop him from still occasionally waking up at 3 in the morning with nightmares about hooded figures hurting his friends.
”Thanks. It’s, uh, it’s you as a fox.” Devin looked down at the paper, feeling rather sheepish about showing off his silly art. It was a fox, it was the color of ash, and it was on fire. He thought it was a pretty good representation of Ash Fox in a lighthearted fun way. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he did care what she thought about it.
Devin smiled. ”Who’s here to judge how ridiculous we might be? I’m having a good time with you and that’s all I care about. It’s nice and peaceful out here.” It was calming and beautiful to spend time here by the lake and he had his friend by his side enjoying the moment with him. There really wasn’t anything better he could ask for.
What was it that had motivated him to get out of bed so early on a weekend? ”Enjoying nature. I think it’s really pretty outside in the morning. The sky is full of color, the lake reflects the beauty of the sky, the birds sing, and everything just feels… fresh. What brings you here?”
”There’s a lot that was unfeasible. I wish it didn’t have to be that way.” People had told him time and time again that everything that happened last year wasn’t his fault but he still felt guilty for not being able to help his muggleborn friends as they got dragged away in front of him and as they were punished for something beyond their control while he had retained the privilege of “freedom” for his so-called “pure” blood. It just wasn’t right. Was it feasible that he, a 13 year old in his boxers, could have stood up against a man who had just knocked out a professor and his army of powerful adults who were kidnapping his friends? Of course not. But that didn’t stop the memories of that day from haunting him in his sleep. The nightmares had been really bad for his first month back at home, and again when he came back to Hogwarts. Sure, therapy and time helped, but that didn’t stop him from still occasionally waking up at 3 in the morning with nightmares about hooded figures hurting his friends.
”Thanks. It’s, uh, it’s you as a fox.” Devin looked down at the paper, feeling rather sheepish about showing off his silly art. It was a fox, it was the color of ash, and it was on fire. He thought it was a pretty good representation of Ash Fox in a lighthearted fun way. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he did care what she thought about it.
Devin smiled. ”Who’s here to judge how ridiculous we might be? I’m having a good time with you and that’s all I care about. It’s nice and peaceful out here.” It was calming and beautiful to spend time here by the lake and he had his friend by his side enjoying the moment with him. There really wasn’t anything better he could ask for.
What was it that had motivated him to get out of bed so early on a weekend? ”Enjoying nature. I think it’s really pretty outside in the morning. The sky is full of color, the lake reflects the beauty of the sky, the birds sing, and everything just feels… fresh. What brings you here?”
”Yeah. I think I did some of those unfeasible things. Probably shouldn’t have or whatever.” Doing those things had made Ash miserable. And they made a lot of people hate her. It didn’t matter. People would always hate her no matter what she did. So she had no regrets.
But that wasn’t the kind of think she felt like explaining to anyone at the moment, so she just stared across the lake again. She kinda felt like the lake was a good friend. It listened to her and it didn’t run away or laugh or look down on her. Maybe be because it was a lake and not a person. People weren’t as nice.
WAIT. THE DRAWING WAS HER??? Ash liked it a lot, but she was also flattered that Devin had thought to draw her without knowing that she would see it. Best friend of the day award definitely went to him today. “I love it It’s great it’s my favorite.” She said it really fast so that Devin would know her opinion extra fast. She giggled. “I love it!” She looked at it again, just because she liked it. Wow. Devin must actually care about her. He must be her real friend. Because he did (super cute) art of her, and that was too nice to be ingenuine.
Tears of happiness? Nope. Not happening. Nope nope nope... Ash would never...
Anyway.
“Nobody is here to judge, but if they were, then I wouldn’t care because I’m having fun.” Okay, maybe she would care a lot, but she wouldn’t stop doing what she was doing. Because looking at nature and chilling out with Devin was more important and less irritating than what other people were saying/thinking.
“I’m here for pretty similar reasons. I thought being outside in nature would make me happy... I think it worked. Didn’t expect you to show up, but I’m glad you did.” She found happiness in her friends. So when she needed more happiness, having real friends was helpful.
Ash smiled. “Today is gonna be a good day, I just know it.”
Teapot Occamy| gryphons&giraffes&goats,OH MY | chaser of the truth | flutiful❧
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
”Yeah. I think I did some of those unfeasible things. Probably shouldn’t have or whatever.” Doing those things had made Ash miserable. And they made a lot of people hate her. It didn’t matter. People would always hate her no matter what she did. So she had no regrets.
But that wasn’t the kind of think she felt like explaining to anyone at the moment, so she just stared across the lake again. She kinda felt like the lake was a good friend. It listened to her and it didn’t run away or laugh or look down on her. Maybe be because it was a lake and not a person. People weren’t as nice.
WAIT. THE DRAWING WAS HER??? Ash liked it a lot, but she was also flattered that Devin had thought to draw her without knowing that she would see it. Best friend of the day award definitely went to him today. “I love it It’s great it’s my favorite.” She said it really fast so that Devin would know her opinion extra fast. She giggled. “I love it!” She looked at it again, just because she liked it. Wow. Devin must actually care about her. He must be her real friend. Because he did (super cute) art of her, and that was too nice to be ingenuine.
Tears of happiness? Nope. Not happening. Nope nope nope... Ash would never...
Anyway.
“Nobody is here to judge, but if they were, then I wouldn’t care because I’m having fun.” Okay, maybe she would care a lot, but she wouldn’t stop doing what she was doing. Because looking at nature and chilling out with Devin was more important and less irritating than what other people were saying/thinking.
“I’m here for pretty similar reasons. I thought being outside in nature would make me happy... I think it worked. Didn’t expect you to show up, but I’m glad you did.” She found happiness in her friends. So when she needed more happiness, having real friends was helpful.
Ash smiled. “Today is gonna be a good day, I just know it.”
Devin beamed ear-to-ear when he heard how much Ash loved his art. ”Really? Thanks!” He couldn’t help but giggle a little bit in happiness. Maybe he would do another, better version of it to give to her. The fox wasn’t bad but he was sure he could do better if he practiced drawing it more. The flames especially could use some more attention to detail. Really, he cared about his friend. Ash was one of the few friends who he felt he genuinely trusted and really clicked with. Oddly enough, most of the people he felt that way about were Ravenclaw girls. It was nice to have good friends.
”Good. I’m having fun too.” If anyone would judge him for sitting in a boat with his friend early in the morning, they probably weren’t someone who he would want to be friends with.
”A bit of fresh air always does me some good. It’s calming. I wasn’t expecting to see you either, but I’m glad we’re here together too. Anything specific on your mind?” Ash was under no obligation to share things she didn’t want to, of course.
”Yes. A good day.” Really he couldn’t see any way things could be bad right now.
Devin beamed ear-to-ear when he heard how much Ash loved his art. ”Really? Thanks!” He couldn’t help but giggle a little bit in happiness. Maybe he would do another, better version of it to give to her. The fox wasn’t bad but he was sure he could do better if he practiced drawing it more. The flames especially could use some more attention to detail. Really, he cared about his friend. Ash was one of the few friends who he felt he genuinely trusted and really clicked with. Oddly enough, most of the people he felt that way about were Ravenclaw girls. It was nice to have good friends.
”Good. I’m having fun too.” If anyone would judge him for sitting in a boat with his friend early in the morning, they probably weren’t someone who he would want to be friends with.
”A bit of fresh air always does me some good. It’s calming. I wasn’t expecting to see you either, but I’m glad we’re here together too. Anything specific on your mind?” Ash was under no obligation to share things she didn’t want to, of course.
”Yes. A good day.” Really he couldn’t see any way things could be bad right now.
“Of course I love it.” Honestly, Ash did not care if the art was good(it was, but that was beside the point). She just liked the idea and the fact that Devin had drawn it for her. And like, drawing took time, so art that you made for someone was basically showing friendship and love and appreciation. And who made art of her? Devin. That meant that he loved and appreciated her and they were best friends. That was what she thought of it anyway. And... how many friends did she have like that? Five? Ten? It seemed like every day that list shrunk.
Anything specific on your mind? well, yeah. Something relating to all of this friendship stuff, actually. Deep breath. Take a deep breath, Ash.”Mamie isn’t my friend anymore. I thought we were best friends, but then she told me- asked(?) me, I don’t really know- to give Emmerson a second chance, and then she doubled down on it and I don’t really know what happened. I smacked my face into a table at some point, but I think that was an accident when I resisted hugging her. And then she stormed off. And she said she didn’t like my art.” She pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, biting her lip as she did so. ”You can’t tell what it is anymore.” Cause the tears and a little bit of blood had made it almost impossible to tell what it was. It was alright. Ash remembered what it looked like, and why Mamie didn’t like it. Maybe that was a warning sign, that Mamie didn’t like for art to make her think.
“I thought we were best friends. Like me and you or something.”
Apparently not.
”I’m here drawing because I like the water and I wanna think about something other than her. I just wanna chill and draw...” It wasn’t fair that other people could make her so miserable. She wouldn’t let them. She was the one in control now. And she was gonna be happy, with or without Mamie. Plus, she had Devin, and he was nice. And she couldn’t be unhappy when she was hanging out with him.
Ash drew some more lake stuff. ”I’m gonna be happy and nobody can stop me.” Ash said that statement with confidence. It was just a confident day, y’know? Nothing bad could happen when the weather was so awesome. Ash was sure of that.
Teapot Occamy| gryphons&giraffes&goats,OH MY | chaser of the truth | flutiful❧
SPOILER!!: Best friend!
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
“Of course I love it.” Honestly, Ash did not care if the art was good(it was, but that was beside the point). She just liked the idea and the fact that Devin had drawn it for her. And like, drawing took time, so art that you made for someone was basically showing friendship and love and appreciation. And who made art of her? Devin. That meant that he loved and appreciated her and they were best friends. That was what she thought of it anyway. And... how many friends did she have like that? Five? Ten? It seemed like every day that list shrunk.
Anything specific on your mind? well, yeah. Something relating to all of this friendship stuff, actually. Deep breath. Take a deep breath, Ash.”Mamie isn’t my friend anymore. I thought we were best friends, but then she told me- asked(?) me, I don’t really know- to give Emmerson a second chance, and then she doubled down on it and I don’t really know what happened. I smacked my face into a table at some point, but I think that was an accident when I resisted hugging her. And then she stormed off. And she said she didn’t like my art.” She pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, biting her lip as she did so. ”You can’t tell what it is anymore.” Cause the tears and a little bit of blood had made it almost impossible to tell what it was. It was alright. Ash remembered what it looked like, and why Mamie didn’t like it. Maybe that was a warning sign, that Mamie didn’t like for art to make her think.
“I thought we were best friends. Like me and you or something.”
Apparently not.
”I’m here drawing because I like the water and I wanna think about something other than her. I just wanna chill and draw...” It wasn’t fair that other people could make her so miserable. She wouldn’t let them. She was the one in control now. And she was gonna be happy, with or without Mamie. Plus, she had Devin, and he was nice. And she couldn’t be unhappy when she was hanging out with him.
Ash drew some more lake stuff. ”I’m gonna be happy and nobody can stop me.” Ash said that statement with confidence. It was just a confident day, y’know? Nothing bad could happen when the weather was so awesome. Ash was sure of that.
Devin listened to Ash, paying close attention to her words and body language. ”So Mamie doesn’t understand how much Emmerson hurt you and didn’t listen to how you felt about that?” Death threats and blood-purist slurs were no joke, and real friends cared when people deeply hurt you instead of trying to convince you to let it go. He had heard things about what Emmerson had tried to do to Ash and to other muggleborn kids, and he fully believed what he had heard about her wanting the muggleborns she didn’t like to die. Emmerson Cambridge was a monster child. She was self-centered and a dramatic liar. Even when he tried to be nice to Emmerson he could tell how disinterested she actually was in anything he said about himself. He wasn’t one to pick a fight and he tried to be as polite as he could to Emmerson, but he had very few genuinely positive thoughts about her. Honestly, the biggest reason he tolerated Emmerson Cambridge as much as he did was because she was so close to Kinsay and Kinsay was nice. Also he had to be in the same classes and live in the same tower as Emmerson. Given the opportunity, he would gladly defend Ash against Emmerson. ”You don’t owe anything to that living reminder or Rosier’s reign of terror. If you want to talk about it I’m here to listen but if you don’t want to talk more about that I’d be more than happy to talk about something else or do some art together.”
Devin looked down at the crumpled piece of paper. ”Do you want to tell me about what it was?” Ash was great at art and he didn’t get why Mamie would insult Ash’s art. All things considered the Emmerson thing was a bigger red flag to him, but the art thing still sounded quite upsetting.
Devin smiled when he heard Ash refer to him as her best friend. It was bittersweet knowing that Ash had just ended a friendship with another one of her best friends, but it felt validating to know that Ash felt the same way about their friendship. It was always awkward when you thought you were friends with someone but they had more friends than you and just thought of you as more of an acquaintance. ”Yeah, we’re best friends, you and me.” He cared a lot about Ash. More than he cared about trying to be nice and friendly to every single person. Sometimes being a good friend meant taking a stand and doing things that not everyone would like.
He was happy doing art and talking with Ash by the lake. ”It’s a good day for doing art by the lake. I like painting with watercolor. For me the hardest part of lake landscapes is getting the lighting and reflections on the water just right.” Water was hard to paint in a way that looked real. But not all art was about things looking real. Sometimes art was based on real things but purposely stylized in a way that didn’t look real, and sometimes art didn’t depict real life things at all but rather an idea or an emotion or a really weird dream.
Devin listened to Ash, paying close attention to her words and body language. ”So Mamie doesn’t understand how much Emmerson hurt you and didn’t listen to how you felt about that?” Death threats and blood-purist slurs were no joke, and real friends cared when people deeply hurt you instead of trying to convince you to let it go. He had heard things about what Emmerson had tried to do to Ash and to other muggleborn kids, and he fully believed what he had heard about her wanting the muggleborns she didn’t like to die. Emmerson Cambridge was a monster child. She was self-centered and a dramatic liar. Even when he tried to be nice to Emmerson he could tell how disinterested she actually was in anything he said about himself. He wasn’t one to pick a fight and he tried to be as polite as he could to Emmerson, but he had very few genuinely positive thoughts about her. Honestly, the biggest reason he tolerated Emmerson Cambridge as much as he did was because she was so close to Kinsay and Kinsay was nice. Also he had to be in the same classes and live in the same tower as Emmerson. Given the opportunity, he would gladly defend Ash against Emmerson. ”You don’t owe anything to that living reminder or Rosier’s reign of terror. If you want to talk about it I’m here to listen but if you don’t want to talk more about that I’d be more than happy to talk about something else or do some art together.”
Devin looked down at the crumpled piece of paper. ”Do you want to tell me about what it was?” Ash was great at art and he didn’t get why Mamie would insult Ash’s art. All things considered the Emmerson thing was a bigger red flag to him, but the art thing still sounded quite upsetting.
Devin smiled when he heard Ash refer to him as her best friend. It was bittersweet knowing that Ash had just ended a friendship with another one of her best friends, but it felt validating to know that Ash felt the same way about their friendship. It was always awkward when you thought you were friends with someone but they had more friends than you and just thought of you as more of an acquaintance. ”Yeah, we’re best friends, you and me.” He cared a lot about Ash. More than he cared about trying to be nice and friendly to every single person. Sometimes being a good friend meant taking a stand and doing things that not everyone would like.
He was happy doing art and talking with Ash by the lake. ”It’s a good day for doing art by the lake. I like painting with watercolor. For me the hardest part of lake landscapes is getting the lighting and reflections on the water just right.” Water was hard to paint in a way that looked real. But not all art was about things looking real. Sometimes art was based on real things but purposely stylized in a way that didn’t look real, and sometimes art didn’t depict real life things at all but rather an idea or an emotion or a really weird dream.
Ash sighed. ”It’s really easy to be my friend, you know. I’m sure that at least half of my friends like Upstead or Cambridge more than me. But I’m still their friend- maybe I shouldn’t be. But like, I just want to be left alone and have Cambridge never talk to me again.” She put her head in her hands. “I don’t understand why Mamie would tell me to give her a second chance. I thought she was my friend. Something about the incident being in the past, I guess. I kinda drew the line there, because I’m not going to forgive Emmerson and anyone who disagrees with that can leave.” Yeah. People who were friends with Emmerson were kinda pushing it, but Ash didn’t tolerate any ‘friends’ who thought she was being irrational about hating Cambridge. She had to draw the line somewhere.
”I don’t really wanna talk about it, if that’s okay. I just wanna move on with my life and never hear the name Emmerson mentioned ever again.” She just wanted to be left alone. So that she could do art and stuff.
“It was a girl staring in a mirror surrounded by overwhelming things, and there was one exit path but she couldn’t find it. And Mamie didn’t like it because it was supposed to provoke thought. Which I didn’t really care about because she doesn’t like anything I do anyway, but then she asked why Cambridge was on it. And she knew why but didn’t think it was a valid reason, and you can guess what happens next.” Yeah. Tears. Blood. Anger. Bitter disappointment. Fighting. You know, just that normal everyday stuff.
It was funny to Ash that Mamie was mostly mad because Ash wouldn’t let her hug her. Because why would she let Mamie hug her after what Mamie said? It was like Ash’s feelings were being invalidated.
Woah. Who could have guessed.
Well, Ash wasn’t going to talk about people who hurt her like that. They were dead to her, and Ash had never really missed the dead. Why should she? Death was a natural part of life. Just like conflict and betrayal was a natural part of friendship.
She’d talk about art instead.
“I agree. I think the light is really hard. But sometimes I just give the ideas. I paint some blue and call it a lake because it is one according to me. It doesn’t have to be realistic.” Wasn’t art great? It was so subjective. It could be whatever you wanted. You didn’t need someone else’s validation.
“I should do a series where I paint the general impressions of the lake every day. And you can’t see the details but you can see the colors.” That would be cool. And maybe nobody else would like it, but it didn’t matter what they thought.
“We can be best friends who do art together and don’t say mean things about each other’s art.” Because really, was there any better sort of best friend to have?
Teapot Occamy| gryphons&giraffes&goats,OH MY | chaser of the truth | flutiful❧
SPOILER!!: The bestest of friends
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
Ash sighed. ”It’s really easy to be my friend, you know. I’m sure that at least half of my friends like Upstead or Cambridge more than me. But I’m still their friend- maybe I shouldn’t be. But like, I just want to be left alone and have Cambridge never talk to me again.” She put her head in her hands. “I don’t understand why Mamie would tell me to give her a second chance. I thought she was my friend. Something about the incident being in the past, I guess. I kinda drew the line there, because I’m not going to forgive Emmerson and anyone who disagrees with that can leave.” Yeah. People who were friends with Emmerson were kinda pushing it, but Ash didn’t tolerate any ‘friends’ who thought she was being irrational about hating Cambridge. She had to draw the line somewhere.
”I don’t really wanna talk about it, if that’s okay. I just wanna move on with my life and never hear the name Emmerson mentioned ever again.” She just wanted to be left alone. So that she could do art and stuff.
“It was a girl staring in a mirror surrounded by overwhelming things, and there was one exit path but she couldn’t find it. And Mamie didn’t like it because it was supposed to provoke thought. Which I didn’t really care about because she doesn’t like anything I do anyway, but then she asked why Cambridge was on it. And she knew why but didn’t think it was a valid reason, and you can guess what happens next.” Yeah. Tears. Blood. Anger. Bitter disappointment. Fighting. You know, just that normal everyday stuff.
It was funny to Ash that Mamie was mostly mad because Ash wouldn’t let her hug her. Because why would she let Mamie hug her after what Mamie said? It was like Ash’s feelings were being invalidated.
Woah. Who could have guessed.
Well, Ash wasn’t going to talk about people who hurt her like that. They were dead to her, and Ash had never really missed the dead. Why should she? Death was a natural part of life. Just like conflict and betrayal was a natural part of friendship.
She’d talk about art instead.
“I agree. I think the light is really hard. But sometimes I just give the ideas. I paint some blue and call it a lake because it is one according to me. It doesn’t have to be realistic.” Wasn’t art great? It was so subjective. It could be whatever you wanted. You didn’t need someone else’s validation.
“I should do a series where I paint the general impressions of the lake every day. And you can’t see the details but you can see the colors.” That would be cool. And maybe nobody else would like it, but it didn’t matter what they thought.
“We can be best friends who do art together and don’t say mean things about each other’s art.” Because really, was there any better sort of best friend to have?
Devin listened closely to Ash. It was unlikely that they would be able to avoid Emmerson altogether for their remaining four and a half years at Hogwarts, but he could understand Ash’s desire to do so. He wasn’t friends with Emmerson but given that they were in the same house and year it was inevitable that at least some of his friends and acquaintances would be friends with her, as much as he wanted to completely remove all mention of Emmerson from his social circles. Trying to force Ash to be friends with Emmerson was really over the line. That showed blatant disregard for Ash’s feelings. And what did Ash need to apologize for? From his understanding, if anyone needed to apologize it was Emmerson. ”That must have felt invalidating of your feelings and traumatic experiences.” Things in the past could absolutely still hurt you. That was all he was going to say on the subject if Ash didn’t want to talk more about it.
Based on Ash’s description of the art, he could guess exactly why Cambridge was on it and it had everything to do with the mirror and overwhelming things. What Cambridge had done was part of the torture Ash had experienced for being muggleborn. Rosier may not be here anymore, but the psychological scars remained. Cambridge had the potential to rip those wounds open again, maybe already was every time Ash saw her. ”Sounds like it was a very self-reflective work. I’m sorry about how Mamie didn’t like it and how things turned out.“ What was that about Mamie not liking anything Ash did anyway? Seemed like an odd way for someone who had supposedly been Ash’s best friend to behave.
”Yeah. That’s the great thing about art. There’s no wrong way to do art, just areas to improve technique so you can realize a vision.” Constructive art critique was often a good thing. Entirely different from just saying you didn’t like someone’s art. ”A lake impressions series sounds like a great idea. Maybe over time through different seasons you’d end up with a set that has mostly the same features, but has different colors from the different lighting and weather patterns and it would look really cool when you look at them all together.”
”I like that idea.” Devin grinned. ”Best friends living our best lives having fun doing art together.” Of course he wouldn’t say mean things about Ash’s art. This was something beautiful and special, this friendship.
Devin listened closely to Ash. It was unlikely that they would be able to avoid Emmerson altogether for their remaining four and a half years at Hogwarts, but he could understand Ash’s desire to do so. He wasn’t friends with Emmerson but given that they were in the same house and year it was inevitable that at least some of his friends and acquaintances would be friends with her, as much as he wanted to completely remove all mention of Emmerson from his social circles. Trying to force Ash to be friends with Emmerson was really over the line. That showed blatant disregard for Ash’s feelings. And what did Ash need to apologize for? From his understanding, if anyone needed to apologize it was Emmerson. ”That must have felt invalidating of your feelings and traumatic experiences.” Things in the past could absolutely still hurt you. That was all he was going to say on the subject if Ash didn’t want to talk more about it.
Based on Ash’s description of the art, he could guess exactly why Cambridge was on it and it had everything to do with the mirror and overwhelming things. What Cambridge had done was part of the torture Ash had experienced for being muggleborn. Rosier may not be here anymore, but the psychological scars remained. Cambridge had the potential to rip those wounds open again, maybe already was every time Ash saw her. ”Sounds like it was a very self-reflective work. I’m sorry about how Mamie didn’t like it and how things turned out.“ What was that about Mamie not liking anything Ash did anyway? Seemed like an odd way for someone who had supposedly been Ash’s best friend to behave.
”Yeah. That’s the great thing about art. There’s no wrong way to do art, just areas to improve technique so you can realize a vision.” Constructive art critique was often a good thing. Entirely different from just saying you didn’t like someone’s art. ”A lake impressions series sounds like a great idea. Maybe over time through different seasons you’d end up with a set that has mostly the same features, but has different colors from the different lighting and weather patterns and it would look really cool when you look at them all together.”
”I like that idea.” Devin grinned. ”Best friends living our best lives having fun doing art together.” Of course he wouldn’t say mean things about Ash’s art. This was something beautiful and special, this friendship.
"Yeah."
Ash took a smooth stone from her pocket and tossed it into the water. It made a distant splash. "I didn't even say Cambridge was evil or that I hated her or that I want to hurt her. I... I only said she was stressful, overwhelming. She suffocates all my happiness... all the time. Why is that so hard to believe?" Ashley Fox had the right to be stressed out by Emmerson Cambridge. The girl was dramatic, and had definitely tried to kill her. It didn't matter that she was nice to Mamie. Upstead was nice to some people. That changed nothing. She took a shaky breath. "Maybe it's my destiny to be sad forever and only have about ten people who care about me." She paused, and then shook her head forcefully. "I take that back, because I don't believe in destiny and the universe can't tell me what to do." She'd take her own path. She'd be happy one day. She didn't have to do what the universe wanted... she... she didn't have to give in. Mamie wouldn't change that. Ash wouldn't let her change that... she wouldn't. She would not.
It might have seemed as if Ash had never even liked Mamie in the first place. That was far from the truth. But... Ash had become good at ignoring her feelings. If Mamie didn't care about her, then fine. Ash could live without her.
Besides, she had Devin. And Devin seemed to care about her feelings.
"I guess the art isn't totally lost. I could hang it up as is, and call it 'It's Still Unfair in Love and War' or 'The Accident' or something dumb like that. And I could be stuck up and when people say "what's THAT supposed to be?", I can look at them judgmentally and say "it's art."" It wasn't very funny, what she was saying. In fact, she was on the verge of tears. But there was something utterly ridiculous about taking an accident and claiming it was purposeful... taking a tragedy and calling it art... pretending to be an acclaimed artist when you're really just a kid who a lot of people hate. It was funny, in Ash's opinion anyway. So she giggled, and then she laughed, and she didn't care if Devin saw the humor or not. There was always something funny during horrible situations. Either Ash could cry about her art being ruined, or she could laugh about it. And she chose to laugh.
"You can always improve your art, but there's so much room for style and emotion and opinion. There's a lot of good art there, and it's all so different." She stared dreamily off into the distance. "When I'm an adult, I'm going to put art all over the walls of my mansion. Father doesn't have art hanging, you know. Except for a portrait of my mother." Ash was gonna have art everywhere. And if other people didn't like that, too bad! You could do whatever you want if you had money and stubbornness. Father said that... there seemed to be a recurring theme with all of his 'lessons'.
"I'm gonna get the sky in all of my lake portraits too. And then that would help illustrate the passage of time." And she could do self portraits too, so that she would show how she got older. That would be cool.
"We can be the most bestest friends. Devin who Likes to Draw and Ashley who Likes Art." She grinned. Alliteration. Hah. Did Devin like to draw dragons? She hoped so. That would be even better alliteration. "And we'll never betray each other because we can't be friends if we betray each other. And we'll also not say mean things behind each others' backs!" 'Cause they were best friends, get it? The real kind. Not the fake kind. Duh.
The Boathouse 
x1
