((Closed RP))

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

Malcolm had left a long time ago. Grant wasn't sure how much time had passed. He'd just been standing outside the popcorn room, staring at a small gap between two floor tiles. He wasn't thinking about the floor, the room, or anything else. His mind was as blank as a sheet of paper.

The scientist would have stood there for much longer if he hadn't been distracted by the squeak of sneakers on stone. He looked up and saw a familiar face, a man in tennis whites carrying a racquet. It wasn't that Grant knew Dieter personally, but everyone knew The Naked Guy of Ravenclaw by sight.

Dieter paused and gave a consoling half-smile to the stranger. "Somebody you know in there?" he asked.

"I think so," Grant replied. He'd faced dinosaurs, monsters, and millionaires, but there was nothing in the world that was going to get him to go and check that plaque for himself.

The tennis player shrugged. "It happens. A friend of mine, he's in there. He said that he thought he might be going home."

Grant realized that he knew who Dieter was talking about. "And it doesn't bother you that your friend is now snack food?"

Another shrug. "It does. But what can I do? He's in there. I'm not, so I do what I do. And I lay off the popcorn." He bounced a tennis ball off the floor. "The people in there wouldn't want us to stop living out here."

If that wasn't right off a sympathy card, Grant didn't know what was. A rather Hogwarts-specific greeting card, but still. And if he was going to stand around and talk about popcorn, it wasn't going to be with this guy. He re-adjusted his hat and gave Dieter a curt nod. "Have fun with that," he said, and walked off to find somebody else to talk to.

Comments

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

Laura and her treecat stepped out of the door to Hufflepuff in search of a midnight snack, and nearly ran into Grant as he rounded a corner.

"Alan? Hey, what's up, d'you forget something?"

Galahad, empathic as all treecats are with humans, lifted his ears and sharpened his attention on his adoptee's friend. Wrong, something is wrong, he sent out telepathically, though he knew Laura wouldn't hear the words.

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

He had been coming to see her. Part of him was worried, concerned that he'd fallen into a Twilight Zone of popcorn and empty rooms. It was a baseless fear, but one he wanted to dismiss.

"You're here." Grant held Laura at arm's length, taking a good look at her. Even though he'd seen her an hour ago, it was a welcome sight.

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"....yeaaaahhh. Nice to know a week in a hotel room with me hasn't dampened your enthusiasm."

The hairs on the back of Laura's neck stood up. If her brief life the first time round had taught her anything, it was that being gazed at that intensely was seldom a Good Thing.

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"I was afraid that you'd be gone," he said. The house elves were devious and fast sometimes. Ellie's room had been picked clean, with no trace that anyone had ever lived there. He would come here, find another room devoid of any past occupants. Grant realized that he was getting tangled up in his thoughts again. "Ellie's gone. She's popcorn."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Ohh, Alan." She pulled him into a hug. "I'm so, so sorry. But I'm not goin' anywhere, promise."

Galahad made a quick leap onto Laura's shoulder and nudged at Grant's face with his nose.

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

He hadn't realized until then how tight his shoulders were, how he'd been holding himself together, not just mentally, but physically. He let himself relax, resting some of his weight on Laura. The treecat went unnoticed as he held her close. "You'd better not," he said in her ear. "I don't know what I'd do then."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Not happening. My life's just getting good finally." She rubbed his back. "It's not always permanent, y'know. She could come back tomorrow like nothing even happened."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

Things never worked out that easily. "And then what?" he asked. "She doesn't remember any of this? She never comes back? She's stuck as popcorn, and her family's waiting for her?"

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

She pulled back a bit. "Oh Lord. I forgot about her family. Can't we just...wait and see, for a bit? Maybe we won't need to tell them anything at all?"

Where families were concerned, secrecy was second nature to Laura.

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"I don't know how in touch she was with them," he said. "I don't know how long it will take for them to notice something's up." How do you tell somebody that their wife was popcorn? Or explain it to her kids?

"This shouldn't happen to her," he said.

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

She leaned back into his arms, rested her head against his shoulder.

"It shouldn't happen at all, but it does," she murmured. "It's things like that that make the world a scary place. Random."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

He didn't like randomness. It was messy, and it made things complicated. Like babies, in a way. "I should have said something before we left. I should have suggested that she go home for a while."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Alan, you couldn't have known this was coming. Don't beat yourself up over might-have-beens, okay?" She closed her eyes. "Trust me, that way lies madness."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

That wasn't going to stop him, and he supposed that she could tell. "You're going to have to try and stop me," Grant said, "because I don't know if I can do that myself."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Human nature," she sighed. "I'll give it a shot. I prescribe cats and Tribbles. Both very soothing when your mind won't stop running in circles."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

Cats... well, shit, he'd have to get his cat back. Tribbles he dealt with every day. He wasn't sure if they were soothing or not, but work had always been his fallback when bad things happened. "I'm afraid I'm short on both counts, unless I borrow yours."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"I'm sure they'd be happy to help. And you know my door's always open. But where's Dog?"

Yeah, where's Dog? Galahad echoed telepathically, though he knew neither human could hear.

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"She's back with Malcolm." It was a long story. He'd get her, but it was way too late now. He rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. "I forgot about her."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"Does he know about Ellie? Dr. Malcolm?" She shifted over to his side, an arm around his waist. "You look just about done in. Want to come back to my room? Tribbles, and a treecat who could probably be persuaded to sit still for a petting. And me, of course."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"He's the one who saw the plaque." He was grateful for the support. Traveling always wore him out, and now he'd had all of the energy sucked out of him. "I'm not going to be good company," he argued. "I don't think Galahad would have much use for me."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"He doesn't like to see you unhappy any more than I do," she pointed out. "I mean, as opposed to just cranky. Cranky he can live with."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"He's got no room to talk about being cranky." Grant tried for a smile, but it died before it could get anywhere. "You were going somewhere. I don't want to keep you."

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"I was going to get a snack. This once I can impose on the house-elves, or just skip it." Arm still around his waist, she started edging them back toward Hufflepuff. "We have a food library in Hufflepuff now, did you know? Somebody partied a little too hard Halloween and wrecked it, but it's back up and running now."

[dinosaurman.livejournal.com]

"No, I didn't know," he said. He was amicable to being led. "Do you get to eat the food, or do you have to return it?" It was a distraction he was willing to consider for the time being.

[wh0-kill3d-m3.livejournal.com]

"You have to replace it," she explained, guiding him steadily down the hall. "Even our prefect doesn't insist on returns after use. Though I don't know, he might think it was cool."