Somewhere Only We Know

[Jeremy Rohlwing]

• I walked across an empty land
  I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
  I felt the earth beneath my feet
  Sat by the river and it made me complete
  
  Jeremy really wished he could at least pretend to be a little more relaxed. If he'd known he would have so many qualms about seeing December Daugherty again he wouldn't have gone through with the invitation in the first place. Not that it was anything significant, anything he ought to be stressed about. It was a casual meeting, a chance to catch up with an acquaintance - a friend. (He tended to avoid thinking about friends directly, for the topic could only remind him he didn't exactly possess many.) But they'd exchanged letters enough, and heck, she'd met Jason before and had still been just as nice, so that was as much of a friend as anyone could be.
  
  Nevertheless, he hadn't told anyone his plans for his day off aside from 'going on a walk', which wasn't a lie, because Jeremy didn't lie. He spent enough of his days in the stuffy, dimly lit casino, and memories of factory life would never fade completely, to warrant every fair bit of fresh air he could get, whether the weather was in his favour or not. Today looked less-than-stellar but there was at least hope of some sun, and with any luck the day would not be a total loss. (Besides, he had supposed the paths on the outskirts of Irvingly, heading towards Hawthorne Hollow and the lake, would be less intimidating than facing an afternoon of stilted conversation in one of the cafes, because naturally he was already worrying about what to ask Ember, despite the fact that she had not yet arrived. She'd been unnaturally busy recently, she said - unless that had been a veiled excuse, which Jeremy didn't doubt - so there was that. It had been a while, too, so they couldn't run out of things too quickly. And, back to his initial plan, if they did, at least they could amble along in awkward silence.)
  
  So there he was, leaning against a rickety gate, just past the edge of Irvingly town, looking out at an easy trail that wound away towards open field and hill and forest, mercifully free of an international gaggle of wizard quidditch devotees. Trying not to look too much as though he were waiting, not that there was anyone about to judge him.
  

  

[December Daugherty]

Ember was feeling more and more useless yet simultaneously necessary in the Riley household. On one hand, with Mrs. Riley away, she had no lady's maid duties to attend to. However with a new baby in the house with no mum around, Ember felt compelled to help care for Gideon though she as doing housemaid chores again for the most part. The nanny and the wet nurse were more than capable of caring for the babe, but Ember liked to help out when she could. She'd been there when he'd come into the world and she enjoyed the little one, even in all his infinite noise and commotion. She was having a hard time gauging how Mr. Riley was doing. Things certainly could not be easy for him and again, she was trying to help out as best she could.

Still it was nice to get out for a little bit. The day was a little grey, but she didn't mind. Fresh air was fresh air and though she ran her fair share of errands in town, it was nice just to stop and enjoy the breeze and a casual walk with a friend. Em felt a little guilty, she'd been so busy lately that she hadn't been able to take any time off to visit with Jeremy, but such was the ways of employment. Unlike most people she didn't have regular hours or a regular schedule. When things were under control, she could take a few hours to herself, when they weren't well, she was always on call. She didn't mind entirely; there were far worse jobs out there and the Rileys had been nothing but good to her since hiring her.

As she moved through town, dressed in one of the few acceptable dresses she owned, she wondered if he thought she was avoiding him. It wasn't the case not at all, but each time they'd tried to get together lately, she'd had to postpone and she felt bad for that. Brushing at the skirt of her soft blue dress, she pulled her shawl around her shoulders. It would be much warmer out if the sun would poke through the clouds, though she wasn't complaining. It wasn't raining, which was all she could ask for.

Down the way, toward the Hollow, she saw him, leaning against the fence and she couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth. Em had so few friends here in town that she rather enjoyed seeing the few she did have, especially when it had been a while. "Hello." She greeted him softly as he looked lost in thought and she didn't want to startle him. Normally she would have fidgeted with her hair, but she'd pulled it back today, just an a simple bun, though a few pieces escaped here and there. Instead she pulled at the fraying edges of her shawl idly, turning her wide blue eyes on him again. "How have you been?"

  

[Jeremy Rohlwing]

• His gaze had slowly drifted back around to the way he’d come, so Jeremy saw her approach - the red hair hardly made her mistakeable - but glanced off to the side somewhere, as though he hadn’t noticed her. Why he did so, he wasn’t quite sure, but suffice it to say there would always be a degree of awkwardness in awaiting someone’s approach and all the while trying not to stare. It was laughable, really, that he had no problem standing assuredly for hours on end, watching people with a stern directness, but remove him from that purpose and Jeremy was too anxious to even make eye contact.
  
  So he pretended to casually stare out at his surroundings again, steeling himself for this social interaction that he had, after all, inflicted upon himself - and Ember had turned up, that was a shock in itself, he really ought to thank her for that - and by the time she’d said hello, Jeremy was able to look her way. Despite the matching blue of her dress and her eyes being a tad distracting, he remained collected enough to offer her a returned greeting. “Hello.” He made an effort to smile, because heck if his siblings weren’t always making their case about him always looking gloomy and inexpressive, and he was glad to see her despite the wave of nerves that was probably just because she was a woman and he didn’t even know her as well as he pretended, but he was sure she was sweet and he could see she was pretty and why did that make her that much more intimidating?
  
  "Oh, just fine. Getting by alright, you know, all things considered." Jeremy answered, and at least his tone was laidback. Things were going as well as they might, given all the hiccups and the unexpected paths his siblings had set on and everything in his life that was very much out of his control. "How about you? Still liking Irvingly? I'd imagine the charm’s all worn off by now." Despite the dismissiveness of his words, Jeremy was smiling now, all the more comfortable when he could do the listening.

  

[December Daugherty]

Ember smiled sympathetically, trying not to show her amusement. Poor Jeremy's world had been turned upside down, first with the entirety of Irvingly becoming a proper town with wizards and muggles living together, then his sister marrying under the influence of amortentia then finding out Jason was magical. What a year, it was quite the shock, she'd admit. Even the tea thing would have caught her off guard, but she supposed he'd adapted well enough. Jason seemed to be doing alright at school anyway.

"Oh, no complaints really." Other than the fact that things weren't quite alright at work, but there was nothing she could really do about that. No sense in saying anything about it either. Things would settle down soon enough and go back to normal. Mrs. Riley would have the time she needed to get better which was all they could ask for. "Actually, I rather enjoy it here." She chuckled quietly with an easy shrug. "It's quiet and quaint." She could breathe easier here, thanks to the fact that she no longer worked for her own family. They were out of her hair and she was only responsible for herself. She did miss her immediate family, her brother and sisters, but she liked living here too. A little independence was something she was actually enjoying. "I haven't gotten do to quite as much exploring as I would have liked, but in time." Em was so very content with things right now, other than her worries over Mrs. Riley, but she still had faith that situation would sort itself out in time.

Shifting her weight unconsciously, still playing with the edges of her shawl, Ember tried not to fidget and failed spectacularly. There was no reason to fidget, other than the fact that she wasn't used to standing still for long. Swaying slightly to subdue the need to move, she looked toward the Hollow again, curious to know if they'd be heading that way. She really hadn't had a chance to venture in there and wouldn't mind wandering through the trees.

Refocusing, she realized she'd lapsed in the conversation without knowing it. "Things are well with Jason? I haven't heard form him in a while." She asked, raising a curious eyebrow. Not that she really expected to hear from him constantly, he was busy, or so she hoped! Ember did enjoy hearing about his adventures at the school, considering she never got to go, hopefully she'd hear from him soon.

  

[Jeremy Rohlwing]

• Well, it was good to hear that she had no complaints - though whether that said much at all, given he presumed Ember would not necessarily complain aloud even if she were to have cause to - and he said as much in his continued smile. She enjoyed it here, she said, and he almost wished he could say the same. Quiet and quaint were fantastic, but he didn't see much of them. "I suppose the place does have its upsides... outside the casino walls, at any rate," he agreed wryly. And away from all the wizards, whether or not they were allowed to use their magic in public. Maybe he'd like Irvingly more if he saw much of it more regularly, if he escaped to the Hollow upon occasion.
  
  She'd mentioned exploring. "I can't promise you'll find much out here, but this is as good an opportunity to explore as any." Jeremy gestured out towards the untouched landscape, the clusters of trees - and the place he knew the lake to be - stretching across the horizon. "Lead the way," he added, with the briefest flash of a grin, noting that she already seemed tired of standing still. He'd been considering offering his arm in a gentlemanly fashion in an attempt at politeness but couldn't bring himself to do it; it'd feel ridiculous, for one, imitating those who strolled in and out of the casino as if they owned the place, as if he were a rich and entitled and not a humble working man, not to mention overly formal, and he supposed she was a friend, and it would be terrible to confine her to a pace when this was a laidback outing, and ought to be about exploring. Naturally he had to awkwardly overthink every action or non-action, because Jeremy was far too used to spending time with his family to remember how to interact with any actual human beings. So he fumbled with his coat buttons for a moment and just fell into step, eyes drifting along the path ahead, though he didn't really mind where they wandered.
  
  Jeremy had to check himself to recall that she'd asked about Jason. What to say. "Neither have I," he admitted, "But I take it that being too busy to write means he's too busy to complain about much." Not quite resisting a chuckle, he elaborated. "He told you he got into -" brow creased, he wrestled with the name of it, "- Gryffindor, was it?"
  
  

  

[December Daugherty]

Smile brightening when Jeremy suggested they could explore now, Ember looked down the path again, eager to see what the Hollow had to offer. She could sympathize with the feeling of being stuck in one's place of employment. Even though she often got to run errands, it wasn't as if she managed to see much of town other than the places she was directed to go. Now was as good a time as any to take a stroll and see what was in the woods surrounding the town contained.

Moving easily, setting a meandering pace despite the long length of her legs, Ember was very content just to stroll along with no clear destination in mind. Arms wrapped in her shawl as they were, she still toyed idly with the frayed edges, though mostly to give her hands something to do. It was an unconscious need, but she was always in motion somehow, always using her hands and so it felt natural now to just fidget listlessly. "He did," Ember said of Jason. She'd learned of his house and a few friends. "So far as I can tell he's enjoying it. It wasn't the house he thought he was going to be sorted into, but he seems to have adjusted alright." It made her chuckle to think of the letters about Slytherin and Gryffindor, but she could only assume he'd grown accustomed to the house he'd been sorted into. "Apparently he has a few friends too." Ember also assumed Jeremy knew all of this as she recounted what information she had gotten from Jason.

"I do like to assume no news is good news." Jeremy was right, Jason must be far too busy to write, what with classes and homework. Hopefully she'd get to see him at Christmas and could hear more about it then. She was honestly curious to know more about the school, Jules had been the only one in their family to get a chance to go and while her younger sister wrote often while in school, Em had never truly gotten an sense as to what it was like. Sure she knew that they had classes like potions and charms and there was quidditch, but she had always wondered what else there was, what it was like at the school.

Sighing quietly in contentment, Ember looked around as they strolled, the dense forest dark in the grey of the day. It hardly bothered her however as she was just happy to be out and about enjoying the fresh air and her company. "I honestly can't remember the last time I had time like this to myself." She admitted with a shy smile, thinking that probably sounded a little silly of her, even as true as it was.

  

[Jeremy Rohlwing]

• Jason really did seem to have kept Ember as informed as anyone in the family, which was a strange thought just like that. Jason, at eleven, hadn't learned any sort of caution about sharing with strangers to begin with, but Ember, of course, was hardly a stranger anymore. More like a family friend. Since their parents had died, and especially since they'd left Dundee, their family unit had been more contained than ever. They'd clung to the other families from their factory town, certainly, but Jeremy hadn't expected anything to change living amidst wizards. He hadn't planned to let anyone in; he hadn't thought he really needed friends. Jason, evidently did. And maybe, Jeremy was slowly realising, friends were not a bad thing. (He'd half-hoped if his family did remain removed, it mightn't fall apart, but that had come to ruin already since the Noah Hatchitt incident - incident was hardly accurate, considering the consequences - and he was still feeling surprisingly devastated about his youngest siblings going their own ways.
  
  Perhaps this was what one called loneliness.)
  
  "“Jason always does seem to adjust easily to everything," he agreed. "“I suppose some of us," he admitted, stating something that was already entirely obvious in his case, "just aren't so quick to adapt." Would he ever be used to this life, really though? Magic might become normal, but he didn't think the fear would lessen. He wasn't sure he'd ever fit in, ever feel at home. Maybe old age had just set in prematurely, destroyed all capacity for accepting change.
  
  "“I would say I'll keep you up-to-date with Jason's news, but I'm pretty sure he'd rather tell someone he thinks of as a friend than me, so - you'll keep a look-out, won't you?" He was worrying needlessly, probably, and he shouldn't force Ember to keep an eye on Jason's progress; she'd somehow gotten herself mixed up in their mess of a family, and it seemed like more of a burden than anything else, so Jeremy cast her an apologetic smile.
  
  Leaving the topic of Jason behind for the time being as they walked, he found his worries subsiding beneath the steady rhythm of footsteps and the whistle of the breeze, just a little. He glanced at Ember when she spoke again, gaze catching on her smile and lingering there as he pondered her remark. In truth, he felt similarly, and smiled briefly in return. "“It must be a well-deserved break, then." She seemed like a hard-working person, and it was nice to see her be able to relax. (That the same could apply to himself was not a thought that crossed his mind, somehow.) "S'a pity the weather won't let you make the most of it..." He remarked, frowning at the grey sky and hoping rain would hold off just long enough for Ember to squeeze in some exploring. Getting to the lake would be a nice walk, though he supposed a forest route would make for sort-of shelter if the weather did worsen... in any case, letting Ember choose the route was just another excuse to force himself to relax. He should probably actually start trying to do that.

  

[December Daugherty]

The Hollow was so pleasant, even in the dreary weather. It was calm and peaceful, she rather enjoyed it. Not that her job was particularly hectic at the moment, but with an infant in the house, it was hardly ever quiet. And that was alright, it was homey, but it was nice to enjoy this too.

"Those youngin's always seemed to adapt quicker." She agreed with a soft smile. Jules was certainly the most flexible person in her family and had the most benefits, just like Jason. It was funny how similar the two were. Em had the feeling that the second half of that statement was meant about Jeremy himself. She couldn't quite sympathize; too much in Ember's life had been beyond her control and she'd had no choice but to go along with the flow. She could empathize though. It was hard to change when things never seemed to go your way or when your entire world was flipping upside down.

"Of course!" She smiled wider when Jeremy asked her to keep an eye on Jason. "I'm afraid he thinks I'm incapable of being friends with both of you, it was quite amusing." Jason's letters never failed to amuse her, even if she thought him just honest in his statements, he didn't really know any better.

Sighing contentedly, Ember simply shrugged. "I'm not used to it, which sounds strange, but most of the time I don't know what to do with myself when I have a free moment." Typically she set about mending her own dresses or cleaning her room or anything to keep herself occupied. This was much better in her opinion. It was nice to get out and enjoy the company of somebody she didn't work with or work for. "I don't mind," She glanced up at the pale grey cloud,s brushing her hair from her face, thinking that as long as it didn't start to downpour that things would be perfectly fine. The path meandered and she was only mildly paying attention to where they were going, she had no set destination in mind, perhaps to see what the Hollow had to offer, but really it was just nice to get out. "I'm inside so often that any time outside is well spent." No cleaning fumes, no hot laundry to deal with in the basement, really it was lovely.

  

[Jeremy Rohlwing]

• Young'uns like Jason were much better with change, that much was abundantly true. Jeremy was certain Ember would be far more adaptable than he, but then again she probably counted amongst the young'uns. He didn't know her age exactly - he hadn't asked, and wasn't an especially accurate guesser - but she was younger than him. Perhaps not by much, but it felt like a lot. She hardly seemed as world-weary as Jeremy. No, she somehow seemed young and thoughtful and serene. And it was true, he concluded, panicking a little, he had gone and bypassed the rest of 'youth' in favour of a tired old age.
  
  She surprised him once more by smiling brightly at the request. Jeremy just shook his head at her remark, the inexhaustible fondness for his younger brother leaking through however much he could roll his eyes. "Well, don't let on that he has any competition for your friendship," he returned with a rare hint of humour; he doubted Jason would be pleased with that notion. "As much as he adores you," - it sounded like an exaggeration, but it seemed to always be either love or hate with Jason - "I'm not sure even you could convince him that I'm not the most unbearable person around." Not that Ember would bother trying that; it wasn't as though Jeremy had much going for him, anyway. He was entirely boring, he was a stick-in-the-mud and no one in their right mind would actually enjoy spending time with him - he avoided looking Ember's way quite determinedly - so perhaps it was best to drop that line of conversation into its grave then and there.
  
  "It does make a change." He eventually agreed, letting her words sink in. The sentiment she had just expressed was more than familiar to him. That strange moment of 'free' time. Time for selfishness, impracticality, adventure. For fun. "I know what you mean. It is nice." Jeremy admitted, breaking off a bramble from a bush and absent-mindedly snapping it into smaller pieces as they walked. He had meant to sound more enthusiastic; really, he was grateful that he'd had an excuse to come out today, too. He might not have, had it just been him. You got too used to the everyday, the mundane, to routine, you forgot what else there was. He'd barely spent time out here towards the Hollow, barely appreciated the outdoors, spent all his time cooped up indoors. He'd forgotten he'd ever liked outside, nature - or had he ever known? "What would you do?" He asked, dredging up thoughts he rarely bothered with anymore. "If you had nothing but free time?"

  

[December Daugherty]

"Nonsense!" Ember laughed quietly. "I am very convincing." The following smile was a little shy; she hadn't meant to outright disagree with him, even though she had been jesting. "One day he'll learn that everything you do for him was just meant to help him out." Em could easily envision a tension between the Rohlwing brothers as they were very different. Jason was young with more opportunities; Jeremy was one of the ones working hard to supply those opportunities. Two opposite ends of the spectrum. Some day when Jason was older he would realize that everything was done out of support and be a little more grateful; she hoped. Perhaps if Jason was as fond of her as Jeremy said, she could coax him into it, subtly of course.

What an excellent question! Conversation seemed to be flowing quite naturally, though Ember had hardly been worried; she was the type of person to enjoy a comfortable silence, though often forgot others were not the same. She didn't have to think much about his question, though she probably could have stopped herself from blurting the first thing that came to mind. "If I could read better-" Too much information? Too late now, though the tips of her ears turned a little pink with embarrassment, she pushed on. "I would spend more time doing that I suppose. I'd like a garden of my own." She enjoyed being outside, despite her little time spent there and gardening was such a worthwhile hobby in her opinion.

Unfortunately she did work so much that it was hard to truly imagine a mountain of free time. Even with Mrs. Riley out of the house at the moment she still found herself ways to keep busy. Gideon and regular household chores were always readily available. The house was spotless most days, but Ember could always find something to do. Perhaps if she could have put a little more effort into her limited reading skills, but it was hard to do on your own when you hardly knew the basics. She could write letters fluently enough, but her spelling was atrocious and she often had one of the more literate housemaids help her. Which was a little embarrassing in and of itself, but that's where she was.

"What about you?" She cast him a small smile, looking up at him out of the corner of her eye.

  

[Jeremy Rohlwing]

• "If you say so," Jeremy replied, his smile edging into a chuckle as she laughed. Joking aside, he wasn't especially inclined to argue with her. Perhaps she was convincing, he pondered, as she continued speaking and offered him an optimistic thought. Once Jason was a little older, perhaps there'd be more understanding there. He might not entirely believe Ember, but he could still hope. "I s'pose, with a bit of luck, maybe," he mused, shrugging slowly.
  
  He hadn't been quite sure what her answer might have been to his next question, but he'd been silently considering his own answer, and it was almost as though she'd pulled her words directly from his mind. She flushed a little - dismayed by her hasty words? -but his gaze remained her way, not remotely inclined to mock that sentiment. If anything, he was relieved she'd mentioned reading first, so he didn't have to broach the topic in a new wave of awkwardness. "No, I - bein' able to read better would be something. I never got any real practice at that as a kid -" Books were not something the Rohlwings had ever owned, and even if they had, Jeremy'd hardly had time for Sunday School, let alone sitting around poring over books. He'd picked up a little, from working where he had, from peering at the newspaper's tiny print until he had a headache, and letters were always useful practice. " - but if I had..." Ember understood, he supposed. "You're not half bad at writing, though," Jeremy remarked, because he could objectively say hers looked better than his; though the compliment didn't mean all that much, coming from someone who wouldn't even know what was spelled right and what wrong.
  
  He couldn't help but nod at the idea of a garden, too. Growing up in a factory town, there'd not been much chance of that either - and for Ember, working at someone's else's home, the garden was not hers - but Irvingly held much more potential, if only there was time. He knew very little about flowers and shrubs, but a vegetable patch would be perfect. What else? Travelling would be nice, seeing something of the world, if he'd had more time, more money and no responsibilities, but even so Jeremy wasn't sure he could imagine himself with the knack of adventure enough for that. Still, this sort of exploring - this casual wander - this, he could do more often. "Not much different, really," He admitted, chancing another smile again. "Books and fresh air, I can't disagree with those."
  
  

  

[December Daugherty]

Smiling softly to herself, Ember thought she couldn't have said it better herself. Time to read and a little garden, it would be so very nice. She had no idea what house she would have been in if she had been able to go to Hogwarts, though Jules often told her how much of a Hufflepuff she was, she thought she would have liked classes like herbology or charms. Of course had she been able to go to school, she would have much better reading skills as well.

About to express her thanks over the writing comment, Em was interrupted by a drop on her cheek. She gasped slightly mouth open in an already forming frown. No! This was so lovely! How dare it rain! Warily she cast her blue eyes upward. It seemed their grey day walk wasn't going to last as long as she would have liked. Maybe they'd get lucky, maybe it was just a drop or even a light drizzle...

Unfortunately, despite her hopes, not a moment later an icy rain started to fall. "Oh rats!" She squeaked as she stopped, pouting. That rain was cold and it was ruining her afternoon. Nothing to do about it now however. She passed Jeremy a hopeless smile as she stopped. "Guess we better head back." They'd be soaked through and through by the time they got back. It had been nice while it lasted.