Oh well, that was the most obstinate position Lucinda could take and Elsie nearly flinched as her cousin's hands hit her hips and she basically growled at Tyb. On a small sigh, Elsie tried to straighten up and find the best way to go about this without making it worse. Was there actually a way to go about that? All Elsie needed out of this was for Lucinda not to tell her mother. If she could just keep it between them, Elsie wouldn't be confined to the house until her thirtieth birthday.

Instead she was going to try and appeal to Lucinda's straightforward side. "I can explain, but I don't think you need me to." Elsie said finally. It was quiet, kind of flat in tone, but Els didn't see the point in trying to beat around the bush. Lucinda was smart, she knew what she saw. Though Elsie supposed it could be taken a couple of different ways by her cousin, it wasn't as if Elsie was here against her will or that anything sinister was going on.  If she could just get Luce to keep it between them, Elsie wouldn't be confined to the house until her thirtieth birthday. It would leave her with a lot to think about though.

---

  

---

MJ always makes her so pretty

Now she was faced with mostly silence. Lucinda sighed, and rolled her eyes at her cousin's comment. But Elsie did know how she was - Luce liked things that were simple and straight forward, and presented to her as they were. It took the barb out of her fury, and out of her Look.

Luce leaned against the door. She had them trapped in here - there was no other way out of the library - and if she wanted to, she could just wait in silence until they cracked and started telling her all sorts of embarrassing things. It was a tempting option. Luce studied the ceiling for a beat and considered her options.

Then she looked back at the pair of them, more resigned than irritated. "Are you still a virgin?" Lucinda asked. Making out in her library was a far cry from fucking in it, but that didn't mean they had never.

---

The following 1 user Likes Lucinda Cavanaugh's post:1 user Likes Lucinda Cavanaugh's post
   Bella Scrimgeour

Elsie's cheeks flushed hot and red out of embarrassment and indignation. How in the name of Merlin's beard Lucinda had jumped to that conclusion, Elsie was sure she would never know, but it was like her cousin had forgotten who she was talking to! This may have been a situation nobody would have ever though to find Els in (herself included at one point in her life!) but that didn't mean she was being stupid about it! It was insulting really.

"I'm not an idiot, Lucinda." Elsie tilted her chin up and crossed her arms over her chest in a rare move of pure rebellion. Her tone was still even and quiet; she knew they were in the "wrong" here, but Lucinda was making some pretty wild assumptions just from catching them kissing in her library. As much as she knew what they were doing was risky, Elsie wasn't going to jeopardize her future or her reputation like that. And frankly, though she wouldn't say it aloud right now, Tyb had been exceptionally good at respecting her boundaries on the matter, not that it had actually come up, but in general they'd moved at her pace. Lucinda however, didn't need to know that at this very moment. What she did need know was that she was being ridiculous, even given the circumstances.

"I realize this is a bit of a surprise, but that's quite the jump in assumption." Elsie had no intent of arguing with her cousin, it wasn't in her nature, but she would stand up for herself, and Tyb too, when she was being called a harlot and he was being accused unreasonably.  Her Gryffindor qualities may not always be overt, but they were there.

---

The following 1 user Likes Elsie Kirke's post:1 user Likes Elsie Kirke's post
   Tybalt Kirke

---

MJ always makes her so pretty

Tybalt was on tenterhooks to see how Elsie's response would be digested by her cousin.

He nearly choked at the question that came next, mouth falling open slightly at just how direct this conversation had gotten. He half-wished he could have sidled quietly out - or been willingly dismissed - before Elsie and her cousin started to discuss this sort of thing. What was he supposed to do, just stand here and avoid making eye contact?

That said, he was grateful he didn't have to be the one to answer. Fortunately, too, the truth here was bound to be the right answer, which ought to count for something. Yes, she obviously was. Which, less fortunately, meant that he, too, was set to stay that way. It was a fate he had already consigned himself to, but one which, in this situation, the chances of it ever changing were dropping steadily from infinitesimally close to nil to downright negative numbers. He'd known Elsie for long enough to be quite sure that would be one stretch of rebellion too far, and equally he had no intention of being held responsible for damaging her prospects at marriage (not that it didn't make him miserable to think about, but even if she wasn't convinced it would happen, Tyb didn't doubt one day she'd meet a perfect gentleman and change her mind). He'd mostly come to terms, he thought. But, factoring in this encounter with Elsie's cousin, if there had been the smallest sliver of a chance it'd happen one day... it was definitely gone now. Definitely. That sliver was smashed to smithereens.  

More worrying than eternal virginity, however, was the destructive potential Elsie's cousin now held over the rest of what was he and Elsie had gotten away with for years. Being banned from making out in her library, that he could abide with, but what if she forbid him to spend any time with Elsie at all anymore? Even imagining it almost made him want to retch. They didn't even get to see each other as often as he wished they could, with secrecy necessarily their lord and master, but if the secret was out? Merlin, what new lengths would he be driven to just to have an innocent conversation with her?  

He closed his mouth and swallowed, his throat uncomfortably dry. None of this spiralling speculation was making him feel any better about the situation at hand, and he hadn't a clue what to say to that -

But Elsie did. Tyb was wrenched out of his dismay in sudden awe, watching as she crossed her arms in uncharacteristic assertiveness. His eyes widened, more speechless than he had been; suddenly, despite himself, he had to bite his lip to stop himself from almost smiling. He wasn't sure Elsie would catch the look he cast her, but it was one of quiet admiration anyway.

---

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   Elsie Kirke

---

Lucinda grinned, all teeth. This was the most reaction she'd gotten out of Elsie in ages, perhaps ever, and despite the circumstances, she couldn't help but be pleased to see a sign of Elsie's spine. "Smart people do reckless things too, Elsie Violette," Luce said in a mild tone. She refrained from making a jab at Gryffindors, expecting that to get more of an argument, but it was in her head regardless.

"You two," she said, indicating the boy with her hand, "You have feelings for each other, then?" This wasn't some random encounter she'd interrupted - while she never would have expected Elsie to be in this situation, there was still no chance that her cousin was macking on a rando.

---

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   Elsie Kirke

Elsie pursed her lips at her cousin. Lucinda made no apology for her question but at least she wasn't staring them down quite so harshly anymore. That grin though; it was all-knowing and a little too arrogant, which Elsie knew was never good where Luce was concerned. Of course her cousin knew she had them in a vice right now and Elsie was at her whim for as long as Lucinda pleased.

"I would appreciate if you'd stop treating me like a child, Lucinda." The continued use of her middle name made her feel like she was eleven and getting ready to leave for Hogwarts all over again. At twenty-one, barely three years younger than Lucinda herself, it wasn't like Elsie was some doe-eyed school girl anymore.

Lucinda seemed determined to ask every personal question she could tonight and this time, the truth wasn't quite as easy as the honest answer to the last one. Elsie hadn't dared to even glance at Tyb since Luce had surprised them, but this time, she chanced a look his way, unsure of how best to answer. That was probably answer enough for her cousin and Elsie didn't have the energy to lie to Luce either, so she simply nodded her head slowly.  

---

The following 1 user Likes Elsie Kirke's post:1 user Likes Elsie Kirke's post
   Tybalt Kirke

---

MJ always makes her so pretty

He did not know enough of Elsie's cousin to have a clue what it meant, but that grin was rather terrifying.

Was it just him, or did she seem a little less maddened by all of this, now? Her tone had gotten fractionally less snappy, but whether this was a good sign or just a momentary lull in her tirade, he wasn't sure, and he wasn't going to bet on it either way.

Elsie's tone hadn't gotten any less surprisingly forceful, though. Her only moment of hesitation seemed to come at the next question, when she met his eyes; Tybalt returned the look, though he wasn't sure he had anything useful to communicate.

It was perhaps a little late in the day to have mastered the art of silence, though - especially now that Mrs. Cavanaugh had specifically waved his way - so Tybalt followed up his echoed nod with an actual answer, as though they were on trial. (Were they on trial here? More importantly, what would their sentence be?) "Um, yes," he admitted, although it had the air of a question, one he wasn't sure if he was getting right. Clearly it was the truth - Christ, he could feel the uncharacteristic flush on his face making that plain enough - but it was slightly embarrassing to explain aloud. Best not to elaborate any further, either - I'm in love with her, or, yes I fancied her years ago and we haven't been just friends for years probably wouldn't give Elsie any less to answer for.  

---

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   Elsie Kirke

---

"If you didn't want to be treated as a child you shouldn't have been groping in my LIBRARY!" Lucinda snapped, voice once again reaching screechy proportions. It was bad enough that she had to deal with this -- although given the options, she'd rather it was her than either of their mothers -- but she was not going to deal with Elsie being self-satisfied about it either.

Her voice dropped in volume again. "And love - kissing in libraries, doing whatever else you've been doing - that's for children," Lucinda said. That she loved Wesley was a happy side effect of years of marriage; she had not been mistaken in what she was getting when she married him, and that was a secure future.

"What's your endgame here, hm? Where does it stop?"

---

The following 2 users Like Lucinda Cavanaugh's post:2 users Like Lucinda Cavanaugh's post
   Bella Scrimgeour, Elsie Kirke

Maybe it was because she was caught without an answer or maybe it was just Lucinda's judgmental tone that was really grating at her, but Elsie was pretty sure she'd never actually been this angry in her entire life. Embarrassed, she could feel the frustrated tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as she tried to formulate some kind of retort, but she didn't have a solid answer to her cousin's accusations. They didn't know what they were doing and they were okay with that for now. It wasn't ideal, it might not last, but right now and for several years, it had worked fine.

Her tone was low and almost bitter, entirely unlike her. There was a hint of desperation to it that she couldn't hide, but she had to say something. "There isn't one," She said honestly. "And hasn't been one for years, Lucinda." Years, minus a few very long months of not talking. It wasn't like this was the first time they'd tried to steal time together since graduating. "Not everybody is cut out for marriage and children and being a housewife like you are. I'm not you; I'm not Adella. You know that, no matter how much everyone tries to push me to be, I'm just not." Elsie didn't begrudge or judge her sister or her cousin for what they'd done with their lives, it's what they wanted to do. "Those things make you happy and I'm glad for that. But the library makes me happy, catching a few minutes alone with the person I love makes me happy, even if we have no idea what's going to happen in the long run." She sighed, her voice more resigned now than bitter. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about what could happen.

"I'd say I'm sorry if you don't approve, but I don't need your approval." There were few times that Elsie had ever felt that way, but standing here, defending her choices was certainly one of them. "So you can either run and tell my mother like a tattletale and make me deal with the fallout, and likely make my life miserable; you can stand here and make more crazy, inaccurate accusations; you can give me a lecture about how immature I'm apparently being, but you can't change how I feel." The first of those options was clearly the worst and honestly Elsie had no idea if she'd made Lucinda angry enough for that, but that one aside, there wasn't much that would really stop her from doing what made her happy.

---

The following 1 user Likes Elsie Kirke's post:1 user Likes Elsie Kirke's post
   Tybalt Kirke

---

MJ always makes her so pretty

This was not... good. Not good. Tybalt listened in increasingly morose silence to Mrs. Cavanaugh's brief sermon that love was for children, floundering as she posed her questions, the questions he and Elsie had thus far quietly decided they were better off ignoring.

It had worked, for the most part; he wouldn't have given up the last few years even if there was no endgame, nothing to come of them. That was almost the point. As for where it stopped - well. By the looks of it, Mrs. Cavanaugh would attempt to put a stop to it once and for all, tonight.

Anything he could think of to say would be ridiculed, no doubt, and - even more so than before, when he'd been alone in here with Elsie - he felt rather like an interloper, as though this should be a private conversation between Elsie and her cousin. He wanted to have something brave to say to stand up for themselves and this, make some kind of argument, but the words weren't coming. What could their endgame be, to be acceptable? It was marriage, wasn't it, that was all society could conceive of as a destination. It wasn't even as though Tyb - Tybalt, who had never once in his life felt comfortable envisioning the future - was opposed to spending sprawling years yet to come in Elsie's company. That, in itself, would be an easy enough commitment. But they couldn't get married, because he could scarcely support himself on his salary, let alone a wife - and he couldn't just give up quidditch either, because what else had he ever been good at in his life, what else would he do with himself? And even if he did, it would be years before he would be able to make them comfortable, and by then he was sure it would be too late.

And besides. Elsie didn't want to marry or have children or be a housewife, anyway, she had just said so, as clear as day. It wasn't all she was saying, in her own impassioned tirade - this was more than she said on a good day, and far more direct, too - and Tyb didn't know if any of this would help, or how he could help, and if Elsie's cousin did tell her mother this very probably would be the end, but. Still. Having gravitated, almost without realising, back towards Elsie's side, he pressed her arm in a gesture of grateful solidarity.

---

(TL;DR? he's doing some jake peralta level heart eyes right now)

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   Elsie Kirke, Ophelia Devine

---

The last time she was this angry, Lucinda had left her home and nearly divorced her husband. Elsie's words may have sounded reasonable to her, but to her cousin - two years older but standing on years of living in a society that often did not like her - they generated a sort of blindly enraging white noise.

"Get the fuck out of my library, Elsie," Lucinda said. She had puffed herself up like some sort of angry cat, all fury, no space for peace. Her voice was level and had no tone to it, but the bite was there, the language she'd picked up from years of working and living in the Quidditch industry rearing its ugly head. White noise. "You think I want to be doing this? Merlin's left ballsack."

They had left her with the excellent question of what to do with them, and really Lucinda just wanted to wash her hands of this: she was done with her cousin, so done, and she did not want to ruin Elsie's life. But there had to be consequences, or the next person they got caught by - and they would, sooner or later, get caught - would not be nearly as nice. Luce had images of Elsie ending up in the papers, and fired, and inevitably disgraced.

The world was not kind to girls who kissed Quidditch players in libraries.

She pointed to Kirke. "You will stay a minute and talk to me," she said, "Or I swear to God, I won't just tell her mother, I will blacklist your goddamn sponsor and Arthur fucking Pettigrew until they fire you from your team." There was that glint in her eyes again, the aggressive little spark: "I may seem like just a housewife to my cousin -" and maybe Elsie had hurt her feelings; Lucinda's voice cracked on it "- but I have a great deal of power in this industry, and I am not. Above. Using. It."

---

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   Ophelia Devine

There was a brief moment where Elsie felt a little relief as she felt Tyb right next to her suddenly; she'd almost forgotten he was there, her hand reaching for his on instinct, though she stopped herself just shy of actually taking hold.

Whatever response Elsie had been expecting from her cousin it was absolutely not this. Elsie visibly recoiled at Lucinda's fury, words coming out of her mouth that Els never actually heard anyone use in her presence. When she dared to look at Lucinda again, there was a panic that she'd never felt rising as the vitriol practically spilled out of Luce's lips; she absolutely could tell her mother and ruin Elsie's life, but she wouldn't go so far as to ruin Tyb's career, would she?

This time Elsie wasn't brave enough to try her cousin, what else could she say? Lucinda clearly didn't understand where she was coming from, they were two different sides of this coin, but to hear that Lucinda didn't enjoy her status was not what Elsie expected. That was not at the forefront of her mind, however it was just how spiteful Lucinda was being right now, threatening to jeopardize Tyb's career like that. The words that Elsie was going to say did not sound good even in her head and she did not want to risk making her cousin any angrier.

Chancing a glace at Tyb, she managed to tangle her fingers in his ever so quickly and give them a reassuring squeeze. That was all she could do though as she tried to hold her head high and leave with some dignity, but that was nearly impossible. As she passed Luce, she paused briefly, "I'm sorry," She hadn't meant to upset Lucinda in explaining what was going on. "I know I don't get to ask anything right now, but please don't ruin his career." It was barely more than a whisper, but Elsie would be utterly heartbroken if this was going to rebound on the only other thing she knew he absolutely loved. There wasn't much more she could do and she crept out of the library with her heart pounding and her mind racing in a thousand different directions.

---

  

---

MJ always makes her so pretty

The next words out of Elsie's cousin's mouth dashed all the remaining hope he had that they might be able to worm their way out of this. The consequences... He swallowed. They were going to be more dire than he'd expected, worse than he had even imagined they could be.

She was threatening to destroy his quidditch chances, on top of putting a stop to this. His career, his life. Tyb had considered what he would do without quidditch enough (fruitlessly, every time, he still didn't know what he would do) but he'd always thought he had time to figure it out. Barring injury, the only reason he could have envisioned giving it up for was - well, for Elsie's sake, somehow. Never had he considered losing both in one go.  

And now Elsie was leaving the room, and everything was falling apart. Tybalt waited until the library door had fallen shut again, trying to disentangle his vocal chords enough to try and speak. "You don't need to tell her mother," he entreated, wide-eyed; he didn't much think the plea would work - Mrs. Cavanaugh would do as she bloody well pleased, that was obvious - but surely she would realise that they'd learned their lesson from this, that Elsie would suffer enough from the fallout here without having to endure it all again from another direction.

All Elsie's defence hadn't done her any good, though, so Tybalt presumed they were past protesting. So he stood there to attention, not quite meeting Mrs. Cavanaugh's gaze as he waited for the part of the lecture that would be, no doubt, tailored to him. "What do you want me to do?" He asked tonelessly, though it wasn't as though he didn't have his suspicions. Mostly, he'd been in trouble enough in his life to recognise sometimes there was nothing for it but to cooperate.

---

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   Elsie Kirke, Ophelia Devine

---

Lucinda deflated as soon as Elsie left the room, assuming her normal posture, albeit slouchy. She was now left with the boy, but she rather doubted that he would be nearly as ballsy - especially after she threatened him with a threat that she was not sure she had the power or the resolve to follow through on.

"I'm not trying to ruin her life," Lucinda said, with a shake of her head, "Or yours, for that matter."

She'd just wanted silence.

Stepping away from the door to the library, Lucinda proceeded until she found a floorboard that was slightly uneven. Kicking at one end of it, the floorboard popped up, revealing a bottle of firewhiskey underneath. She bent over to pick it up.

"My brother-in-law," Lucinda explained, because Cian thought that he was clever, "You look like you could use a drink, Mr. Kirke."

---

The following 1 user Likes Lucinda Cavanaugh's post:1 user Likes Lucinda Cavanaugh's post
   Elsie Kirke

He had, if anything, expected her to take a more kindly approach with Elsie - Elsie being her cousin, and otherwise a paragon of excellent behaviour - and a less kindly one with him. However.

Mrs. Cavanaugh’s demeanour had changed once again, suddenly seeming a great deal more subdued as she turned her attentions to him. It was enough to get whiplash. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at her first remarks, about not wanting to ruin their lives; so she said, but it had sounded a great deal like she wouldn’t hesitate to just a minute ago.

Tyb had no interest in ruining Elsie’s life any more than he had already contributed there, though, so he stayed quiet. He kept quiet, too, while she went on an inexplicable mission with a floorboard, kicking it out of place. His eyebrows were propelled higher, his eyes widening now in incredulity at the hidden bottle of firewhiskey. Well then.

“You’re - probably right,” Tybalt agreed, startled but jerking his head in a nod anyway. After her yelling at them, after all - he’d be surprised if there was any colour left in his face. He still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t a trick, mind you; calm as she seemed, he hadn’t yet ruled out the possibility that she’d try to crack the bottle over his head, or something.

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   Elsie Kirke

---

Lucinda set the bottle down on one of the library tables, set between two arm chairs. Standing on her toes let her grab two small empty decorative glasses - generally not for drinking, but, well - off one of her bookshelves. She set them down, and poured herself what was more or less a shot. She pushed the bottle of firewhiskey towards the other empty seat and sat down.

"If you get caught," she said, "Really caught, not caught by me - it's going to be worse for her."

That was how the world worked. When real people caught you, they didn't get in a screaming match - they watched, and they took notes, and they went to the Prophet or even just to their friends. Reputations plummeted. People lost their jobs. Lives were ruined. That was what was really at risk, here - even if pointing it out made Lucinda the bad guy.

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