time lapse ((ralph))

It wouldn't be before long that break would be starting, and Cherry was rather desperate to have advice of some sort as she knew she wouldn't really be able to get counseling until school started again in the new year. She didn't know what she want to do because of the guilt she'd have due to her upbringing despite having been completely detached from it at that point. Cherry had never felt so conflicted in her life, especially since she knew it wasn't the time to have something mess up all the responsibilities she already had. She found at herself in front of the door to the History of Magic classroom; knocking on the door, she waited for a response.

The history room had a cleared floor with the desks and chairs along the perimeter. Wearing his gym clothes, Ralph was lifting his weights again. He originally didn't want to show up to the Feast and stay here exercising, but he thought it was worth it. He knew about the events with the Death Eaters. It was clear he had no time to relax, he needed to up his intensity for the coming future. Along with Nemis, the two were a strong team. They had a bond that was deeper than their sense of humor, and they would survive. It wouldn't be a cake walk, but they knew what they experienced. Nemis was going on strong, but he could tell Ralph was a bit slow. "You're human Ralph, don't over work yourself. Go get a drink, we both know I'm the heavy hitter." Nemis told Ralph. "I'm the one who controls you, I can't back down either." Ralph claimed, unsure of what his own thoughts were. As if on a cue, someone knocked on the door. Nemis tilted his head at the door, signaling Ralph to take a break. The professor stood up and took a sip of his water. He walked over to the door while Nemis kept working.

He opened the door seeing his seventh year student Cherry. "Dafuq?" Ralph wasn't sure how to react. He thought most kids would just be in their rooms celebrating in some way due to the coming break. He considered this situation, pretty clear on her problems. "Come in and grab a seat. We'll talk." Ralph poked his head out and looked around the halls. "I assume that's what you want right?"

"Yeah... Why else would I come here for?" Cherry responded as she walked into the classroom and took a seat. "I've been feeling really conflicted lately. I just don't know what to do..."

Ralph and Nemis heard her speak and both were concerned, but they hid it as they believed they were over thinking it. Ralph leaned against the wall close to Cherry as he took a drink of water. Her pregnancy was certainly something he didn't see coming. Had it been about anyone else he wouldn't have been really surprised, he has helped with this plenty before. Whether he offered enough guidance was always difficult to tell. He likes it when they come to ask for more advice, he can feel more sure that they'd take his advice seriously. "So, what's troubling you?" Ralph calmly asked. "Is there a concern of a relative uncovering your situation?"

Looking down, she gave a nod. 'Yeah, my parents. They'd kill me if they found out I'm pregnant. I had a rather evangelical upbringing though I never really believed much in it myself..." Cherry never talked about her parents very much. She had planned on staying in the wizarding world and not keeping contact with them as soon as she was able to after graduation. "They preached abstinence until marriage quite a bit. I've done the exact opposite the past few years and was lucky until now..."

Ralph was surprised by this. He had heard rumors about Cherry being a bit of a sex machine, but to hear it from the horses mouth was something enlightening. It was also what he feared that it was the parents pushing for her to keep abstinence. There were plenty of times he could recall that being a trouble in some of his students lives. That whole evangelical non-sense also was a thing he had heard before. "You've got religious parents huh, that's pretty unfortunate for one who doesn't believe. How well would you say they moderate it? I don't mean any offense, but there are ways you could hide that type of thing with your size." Ralph fumbled in his mind for a bit. "What he means to say is that you won't be there long, so how would they know if you just lie and keep things hidden?" Nemis specified what Ralph meant to say. "Yeah, you really shouldn't have to worry. If some signs show then maybe you could make something up. Either way, I'm not sure what you really needed to come here for. The answer was easy enough." Ralph had believed it was that simple. Most parents would say something, but not really follow up on it. He knew that too well. His mind began to drift.

"They catch on to stuff by how much I make an effort to avoid them," Cherry replied as she began to fidget around with her fingers. "Whenever I act off to them, they pretty much do every test on me imaginable at urgent care. You can imagine how relieved I am whenever it turns out all I had was a scare." She brushed off the size comment trying to focus more on the issue at hand. "You clearly never met my parents then. They're the type that would've also disapproved of the few girlfriends I've had here and there even though I was never really out to where it'd be obvious. I just didn't think my sex and dating life should be much of a thing to make a big deal of myself, you know?"

Ralph jumped back hastily as she started. What she had said was really surprising to him, he had a few questions from it. "You really do have some annoying parents don't you. I can safely say that you are very mature compared to most of the kids here, but you're more like them than I originally thought. You're still very mature in comparison. It's odd that you let your parents have that much control over you at your age. Just out of a thought in my mind, what do you think you should do in this situation? I know you'd have some sort of planning other than asking me for advice."

Ralph was unsure at this point. Nemis even took time to pause and listen for what came next. Cherry was usually pretty smart, but why was she still locked in control? What extents did she feel that she needed to go to for whatever she hoped to achieve? There were so many questions going through his mind, and he was hopeful her answer would explain something, anything.

"Thanks, I guess. If anything, that just helps me feel more normal like my classmates,' she said giving a shrug. Cherry found it a bit odd that she was talking to her professor about her parents, but she had to tell someone eventually before it really started to consume her. "I've pretty much had to raise my siblings. They'd probably have more children than me and my three siblings if it weren't for fertility problems. I never really got much options to where going to school was essentially my only escape, especially once they found out I'm magical as they couldn't really try to homeschool me anymore because of it. I can't stay here over winter break either as my parents made sure that when I got enrolled at both Ilvermorny and here that the administration knew that I'm not to stay due to having to observe their religious beliefs. Yes, they once got angry over a Starbucks cup." Why was she trusting Ralph with this information again? Oh, right. He was actually a pretty good advice giver and about the closest this school had to a guidance counselor.

Ralph and Nemis began to see the problem here. Ralph had anticipated it. As smart as Cherry is, she still has difficulty deciding for herself. That was about all he got from that. "I compared you to other students for a reason Cherry. I'm unsure whether you caught it in my question. If you did, then I can assume that you think there's something restraining you." Ralph took a sip of his water.

"I'm not intending to hurt your feelings when I say this, but despite being more mature than most, you're awfully dependent for your age. At least that's what I get. I understand you're a Ravenclaw for a reason, but you need to stand up for yourself. If you have to follow every word that your parents speak at your age, it's hard to say you're ready for the real world. You're smart, and if you think that you can still be controlled by your parents, you're mistaken. Tell them that they can't control you forever, it's a lesson better learned sooner than later. There's always a time for a bird to leave its nest, but that's part of that bird's instincts. We all grow up and move on, some sooner than others." Ralph eased up after letting that out. Nemis looked at him and pat Ralph on the back. Ralph took another sip of water. "Sorry about that little outburst of energy. If I'm being honest, that life sounds like it would've been much more entertaining for me. Raising my siblings seems like something annoying though. I only have one true sibling."

She crossed her arms unsure of what to think of Ralph's long response; she didn't expect to hear those words, but she had a feeling part of it were true. "Honestly, discovering that I have magic was a lifesaver. If it weren't for that, I'd be stuck in a more rural part of Overland Park for my entire life stuck with whatever guy my parents wanted to court me with whether I actually found the dude slightly attractive or not, have his 20-some kids, and stuck being a stay-at-home mom that's always barefoot and pregnant." Cherry cleared her throat. "They never really pushed such views on my siblings very much until they got older after they discovered I'm a witch. Of course, my aunt, who we live with, don't share those views because she's much more laid back and liberal. One of my parents didn't adopt those views until they began dating the other. They practically became radicalized in a way. There's only so much I can do when I'm not stuck with them. I basically credit my existence in terms of who I am towards that pivotal point in my life, you know? I was actually able to figure myself out a lot more easily than I would've if I had been stuck in the upbringing they wanted me to." She had begun to ramble on whether her sentences were making any sense or not; the Ravenclaw needed this moment to vent.

Ralph had a greater grasp on what she meant if everything she said was true. He could tell it was a draining topic for her, but he believed she was on the right route. "You are a talented person. You have plenty options open now and I suggest you look deep into them. You're free from your families grasp, even now. That pregnancy is proof that your parents can't control you and that you choose things yourself, so decide what you want to do with your life. If you must, rely more upon your aunt for some help. She sounds more tolerable. Know that I am also willing to help in many ways. We can't be expected to get into the real world early on alone, so ask for people's help you can trust. That's why you're here now." Ralph delved deep into his thoughts once more. He took a sip of water feeling some accomplishment, but he knew it wasn't over yet.

"Cherry, have you ever felt like you could've had a happier family? If you could change one thing about your family, would you make it count?" Nemis tilted his head as Ralph talked. There was a look in his eye, an envious look. "Ralph...You're still thinking about it aren't you? Let's not get too personal. Cherry already has enough on her mind with her own family." The professor scratched his head and looked around. He decided to correct himself."Sorry, that was just... A spur of the moment I guess. Nothing to worry about."

"I guess that's a way to think about this whole situation," she responded finding Ralph's perspective to be a bit odd. "Thanks. True, true." Cherry was in yet again another moment of being shocked by Ralph's advice; it was still odd to know that this troll of a professor had this side to him. She raised an eyebrow hearing the exchange of comments between Ralph and Nemis. What was Ralph thinking about that lead to that question? "If you say so..."

Ralph knew she was curious. He decided it'd be best to change the topic, but there wasn't much to jump to. The best move was probably to just leave it at that. "Well, I hope my advice helped enough." Ralph shrugged. "I would like to get back to my exercises, but if you want to stay, you can. I'm just being ready, you would know the news. I may even decide to give you a personal history lesson if you're curious enough." Nemis glanced at Ralph at that comment. "What are you planning Ralph?" The shadow tilted his head. "You know what I'm thinking." Ralph replied a bit bluntly. Nemis had his eyes closed, then nodded and stretched. It didn't matter to them if she was actually curious enough to ask, but it was an option.

"I'm guessing you're exercising because the new headmistress is, allegedly, a bit of a scaredy pants to go against Death Eaters?" she wondered as she crossed her arms. "Apollo is hanging with Cernu, so I sorta have all the time in the world right now. A personal history lesson you say?" Now things were getting interesting.

Ralph could tell there was a pique of interest in her voice, but he wondered if it would stay. Nemis was also curious. "That personal history explains my youth and how Nemis came to be. It is a little bit of a long story, especially if I have to go into the details." Ralph drank the rest of his water bottle and set it on a table. "I hope you realize that this is something I haven't told anyone before. I probably should let some more weight off my shoulders. I've had to live with the bad memories and not talk about it due to my own careless nature. It's been long enough, I think I'm ready. You sure you want to know more about this?"

Cherry nodded to show she was listening even though a part of her brain just had to be fantasizing thanks to the way Ralph had phrased his question. It was a damn good thing that she wasn't one with an inclination to cheat. "Sure, I guess. You need someone to let it out to that wouldn't be much of an ass about it." She knew how some of her fellow classmates could be; there was no way Ralph could have enough trust to tell them according to her assumptions.

"Alright," Ralph breathed for a little bit. It was difficult for him to believe he would finally get this off of his chest, but relieving at the same time. Nemis gave Ralph a pat on the back to assure him.

"I'm a pureblood just to remind you. My parents were talented magic users, right? They had certain... Expectations of me. I wasn't much of a child to them I suppose. More of an extension of who they were. I do, however, remember them caring, but eventually something revealed itself within them. I had no idea what had happened, but they were severely disappointed with me. I wasn't talented in magic like they had suspected. They came to some absurd conclusion at one point. They believed they could improve me with their own magic. They pushed me, beyond what was reasonable. I was a guinea pig to them." Ralph paused and decided to let Cherry have time for that to settle. He wasn't finished yet though.

She listened to what Ralph was saying so far feeling sympathy for him. Here she was feeling sympathetic for Ralph of all people. It's not like her classmates would believe her if she said that there was more to Ralph than being a troll. "Sorta like a squib I guess?" Cherry wondered; she had read something about squibs occurring in pureblood lines. "Usually, a squib is ostracized... I don't know which treatment would be worse..." Could she blame these feelings of pity on hormones? Was she even far enough to even do that?

Ralph thought on the connection with a squib, a little bemused by it. Perhaps, but the reality was an unusual one. "I still have a scar from one of the experiments. They were trying something different, and I guess you could say they succeeded." Ralph looked over at Nemis and shook his head. "I'll just say that they turned my wand into quite the specialty. They enhanced me to make use of my more physical strengths and have my elemental like companion here." Ralph let out a sigh thinking back on it.

"It's not much of a question that they cared about me, but it is difficult to tell if that's because I was an effective part of their research. After Nemis was conceived, I had decided to run away. It probably wasn't going to get much worse after, but I felt I needed to protect us both. I was sure they would've pushed on to see what Nemis could withstand, I knew what he was capable of... It was dangerous for just about everyone involved. Nemis and I eventually figured out how to control his power with the help of a family friend... One who I won't mention here... Either way, I did get by with some help. Maybe I should go talk with my parents sometime, I can't even imagine how much has changed since I was with my family." Nemis nodded with a shrug. That was the simple way to put it without getting into all the little gritty details.

"They turned your wand into that gargoyle thing? That's like a really strange combo of transfiguration and alchemy!" Cherry didn't know how to feel about that revelation; in a way, it made a bit of sense as those two were very connected. "How old were you when you and Nemis ran away?" she asked. "You were pretty young when that all began..."