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Harry Potter:"Do you really think there's going to be a war, Sirius?"
Sirius Black: "It… feels like it did before."
TURN ON THE LIGHT is a Post- Potter roleplay that takes place twenty-five years after the Second Wizarding War.
We welcome canon and original characters in this (currently) sandbox style roleplay.
If you talked to most people that spent any sort of time in prison, there were likely a plethora of stories you could be told. Wizarding prison was no exception to that, though an unlikely story would be finding someone you could call a friend in such a situation. Yet somehow, that had happened to Kylian.
Perhaps it was the unideal circumstance of both of them ACTUALLY being innocent of the crimes they were accused of, but he had formed a bond with Antonia that he had never expected. They had been in the same house at Hogwarts, but their paths never crossed any more than in passing. So to see a familiar face inside those cold walls definitely made it a bit more bearable. They actually developed a bit of a friendship, and even though she got out a bit before he did, he knew they would meet back up outside.
He decided to pop by Honeydukes, hoping that she was there. He hadn't had the chance to stop by since his release, and he figured there wasn't a time better. He walked into the shop, hearing the bell above the door ring. He didn't see anyone, so he took the time to browse the shelves. He didn't have the biggest sweet tooth, but sometimes the right kind could hit the spot.
Post by ANTONIA RENNICK on Jun 4, 2023 16:31:50 GMT
When the bell rang to announce a visitor five minutes before closing, Antonia did not expect to be met with a face from the most trying time in her life. Getting betrayed and having her freedom taken away had left a deep scar that she feared would never stop aching, her reputation likely damaged beyond repair. The mere mention of Azkaban sent a chill down her spine. Yet her memories of this person were nothing but positive.
The unlikely friendship she formed with Kylian in prison got her through some of the worst days where all she could do was cry, and several times since her release she had caught her mind drifting over to him, wondering how he was doing and hoping the guards were treating him fairly. But she hadn’t visited and she hadn’t written. She had felt bad about it, but Azkaban was a dark time she wished to put behind her no matter how insistently it clung to her, how deeply it clawed itself into every aspect of her life.
Coming out of the storage room, Antonia’s customer service smile immediately fell when she laid eyes on him. But not out of fear, but of surprise. She had avoided newspapers like the plague ever since she got out, developing a dislike for them after seeing her own name featured. How long had he been out?
She gasped. “Kylian!”
Tonia rushed over to him and had to restrain herself from pulling him into a hug. Instead she shoved her hands into the pocket of the apron she always wore when she experimented with potions, and blinked at him like she could not believe her eyes. “When did you get out?”
Truth be told, Kylian hadn't honestly expected to make it out of Azkaban. Those odds dramatically decreased when Antonia left, as she was one of the few people that could keep his head on straight and his focus on leaving. Yet he had persevered, and he wondered if she knew how much she had actually helped.
He was really hoping that he hadn't chosen a bad time to stop by Honeydukes, but he kind of wanted it to be a surprise. After all, his release wasn't exactly headline news. Thankfully he didn't have to wait for too long, as she made her way out the back of the store and locked eyes with him.
He wasn't one for emotion, but he couldn't help but to smile as he heard his name escape her lips. "Sorry for just dropping in, didn't realize you were about to close." he said with a chuckle as she closed the distance between them. "Just under a week ago actually, I didn't actually think it would happen. How's it been for you? You look to be doing quite well."
Post by ANTONIA RENNICK on Jun 18, 2023 11:37:38 GMT
Even if the shop had been at its busiest – which wasn’t very busy at all nowadays – Antonia would have dropped everything to talk to Kylian. A year was a long time when you used to see each other every day. “No, no, this is better,” Tonia assured him, a smile stretching her lips, “I just need to lock up then we can go up to my flat.”
She had missed him, more than she thought, and that realization brought back the guilt. “I—” she hesitated, looking away. Her gaze landed on a scuff mark on the wall, likely from an old mid-century cabinet that used to be up against it. She made a mental note to fix it later.
“I’m sorry I didn’t visit,” she said, finally meeting his eyes. Her own burned. “I wanted to, but…” Tonia trailed off, hoping he would understand. She feared that setting foot in the prison again would bring back the feeling of helplessness she had been working so hard to dispel, afraid the anxiety that used to plague her would reclaim her throat, choking her from the inside.
Maybe she looked to be doing well, but every day was a battle where the only way out was through.
She cleared her throat. "It's been..." she could lie and say everything was fine, but he'd see right through it. Tonia didn't want to hide the truth from Kylian, not when he was the only person who would really understand. She felt oddly nervous. "Honestly, it's been hard."
There was much more she could say but she'd had a year to try to come to terms with her new reality; Kylian had only been out for a week. "But we can talk more about me later. How are you doing, Kylian?" ‘How are you really doing’. She watched his reaction closely, eyes scanning for any signs of pain or injury.
They had a lot of catching up to do so Tonia used her wand to quickly lock the shop and turn the lights down. "Come on, let's continue this upstairs. I made shepherd's pie for tea."
While yes, it had been a bit over a week since he had been set free, it somehow seemed like so much longer while simultaneously feeling it it had barely been a day. Inside those cold dark walls, time was a concept that could easily get away from a person. Minutes, hours, days...they all blended together. Yet here he was somehow, mostly intact.
He could see the guilt and pain in her eyes when they finally met his as she apologized. He shook his head quickly, his gaze not breaking from hers. "Listen, I would have been shocked, and slightly mad if you had visited. I don't expect you to EVER set foot back in that hellhole." he said with a soft smile, rare for him. He could sit here and be mad, say that he would have visited her but truthfully he wasn't sure he would have. That place had a way of breaking even the strongest of people, himself included.
She mentioned it being hard on her, but quickly diverted the subject back to him. "Thankfully not too much has changed since going in, though I will say the week I've been out has been the longest I've gone without a fight." he said with a wink. It had been a BIT longer than that.
He watched her lock up, glad that he had made the trip. "Tea sounds absolutely wonderful, you can fill me in on all the fun I've missed."
Post by ANTONIA RENNICK on Jan 8, 2024 12:58:46 GMT
For as long as Tonia had known Kylian, he had been nothing but nice to her. It was the reason she had gravitated towards him in prison instead of keeping entirely to herself, and trusted him to keep her sane. It made it hard to tell if the reassurances he was speaking were genuine or just him being kind and supportive. But the soft smile he gave her was one he didn’t give often, and it eased her worries more than any words could.
“Thank you,” she breathed, mirroring his smile. She stepped closer, succumbing to the urge to hug him, arms wrapping around his shoulders in a long embrace. Touching Kylian confirmed what her eyes were seeing, that he was here in the flesh, finally free to go wherever he wanted. And out of all people, he’d come to see her.
“I’ve missed you,” Tonia admitted, pulling back and looking up at him with a soft smile. Her smile grew bigger when he joked about having gone too long without a fight, Tonia giving a good-natured eye-roll in response. The joke eased the seriousness hanging in the air, but only for a moment. Tonia quickly deflected the question that followed, trying to distract Kylian with the promise of food.
"Come on," Tonia said, leading him through the room in the back towards the spiral staircase that led up to her one-bedroom flat. She loved the place. It was small, but didn’t feel cramped with just her living in it. Hardwood floors and floral-patterned wallpaper in teal greeted visitors when they entered, teak and walnut furniture, and in the living room a plush sofa in Gryffindor red that she had placed a round, mustard-colored ottoman next to on the handmade vintage rug. Animated paintings of people, landscapes, and photographs decorated the walls on one side, the other taken up by a big bookcase filled with leather-bound books, potted plants, and keepsakes she had collected over the years. A small armchair sat next to it under brass sconces that cast a warm glow over the flat.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” she said, making a sweeping gesture with her arm, “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back with the tea.”
Antonia’s kitchen followed the same style as the rest of her place, and had a breakfast nook that was perhaps her favorite spot in the entire flat. But they would be taking their dinner in the living room.
She plated up the pie, made them both a cuppa and levitated the tray to the living room. There was a round dining table in the corner, but Tonia moved toward the sofa instead, putting the tray down on the coffee table. It felt less formal.
“So…” she said, sinking down on the sofa and glancing over at Kylian awkwardly. She didn’t quite know what to say, hoping her visitor would lead the conversation.
