The Doctor is in...

[teenagerenegade]

It's probably not totally professional of him. In fact, it's not. Professional. Still. What Charlie's got is tonnes and tonnes of experience of being sent to psychiatrists and what he knows is this: that, sometimes, you can talk and talk and still, people just aren't listening. And, when you're a kid, there's nothing worse. Charlie might be

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[honestlyrubbish]

She doesn't notice the sign at first

[teenagerenegade]

"It's okay," he says, both hands up in a gesture kind of like surrender, and he tries really hard not to think Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter. "It's just...something that I used to do back home. And it's kind of helpful, actually. Just...yeah. Sort of weird."

He smiles.

"Do you need to talk? While you're here?"

[honestlyrubbish]

"A bit," Hermione admits, her brows still knitting as she peers around and tries to imagine feeling comfortable speaking to someone else in such a setting. It's even more of a surprise when she finds that it's actually not so difficult at all to relax, memories of second year rising to the forefront of her mind, of huddling in stalls and brewing Polyjuice Potion. It all seems so long ago, now, but there are some things that one never forgets. The fleeting glimpse of a basilisk. The sigh of relief, of happiness, of overwhelming joy upon waking up and finding out that her best friends had figured out the Chamber at last

[teenagerenegade]

"Firstly, don't worry about my time. We're talking about you," he says, shifting to get more comfortable on his perch, head tilted to the side as he listens. "Okay. Let's start with the thing that you find most stressful and work our way back, okay?"

[honestlyrubbish]

It feels as though Charlie's made the decision for her, and although Hermione still peeks from side to side, as though sure that someone else will come along their way who more dearly needs Charlie's time, it seems rude to refuse now. A part of her, besides, can't help but feel as though she'd like a listening ear indeed, not even to fix all of her problems, but just to let some of the secrets she's kept to herself off her chest. So she nods, sitting herself down and taking a small, shaky breath

[teenagerenegade]

"The island," says Charlie, nodding. "You kind of get used to people coming and going. It's one of the shittier things about living here, I guess."

[honestlyrubbish]

"Coming and going is one thing," Hermione replies, voice trailing off with a distant look, before she shakes her head and tries again. She's dwelling. It's the one thing that she's supposed to be fighting right now, the tendency to focus on details and matters beyond her control, so that she might be able to focus on those she can affect. But it's a hard battle, no matter how she looks at it, and no matter who she speaks to. "But the notion that some people might not be returning where we think, or hope, that they are... it's quite scary. The more powerless I realize we are, the more I think about it, trying to find any loophole to abuse at all."

[teenagerenegade]

"Loophole?" asks Charlie. He tilts his head to one side while he thinks about it. "Like what?"

[honestlyrubbish]

"Well... I don't know what, which is the problem," Hermione explains with a soft sigh, already feeling a headache teasing at her temples, pressing there until she can feel the thud of her pulse. "It's very hard to know where to start, and trying everything on a whim is bound to result in a lot of wasted time and effort, and it keeps me from my friends, who aren't too happy about that in the first place."

Her eyes close again, and all she can feel is tired, suddenly worn threadbare.

"But I refuse to believe that there won't someday be a way off the island found that we can control."

[teenagerenegade]

"Maybe it's better to just enjoy it?" He's idly thinking about it, scuffing his sneaker against the floor and making it squeak. "Treat it as a holiday out of time and just...let it wash over you?"

[honestlyrubbish]

"Telling me simply to enjoy something and not consider the further details is... generally not very effective," Hermione admits with a small wrinkle of her brow and a sigh of her breath. There have been countless times, she thinks to herself, when either or both of the boys have tried to talk her out of gleaning every possible detail from a situation and trying to apply the knowledge in a meaningful way. But her mind functions the way that it does, and simply knowing that she shouldn't worry so much isn't often enough to actually stop her brain from running at a mile a minute.

And in this case, it's made worse by the fact that she doesn't know. She doesn't know that stepping back would make things any better at all.

Chilling.

"If I knew how to let things go, I probably wouldn't be here at all. I would have been able to say that I didn't need a talk, and I'd be able to juggle it all, responsibilities and curiosity alike."

[teenagerenegade]

"It sounds exhausting," says Charlie, scribbling on his notebook. "I spent a lot of my lie caring really, really hard, you know? Trying to make it better for everyone. Sometimes...you just have to admit defeat. I can't help everyone. I can't make it beer. So I find something else to focus on."

[honestlyrubbish]

"I can't afford to do that," Hermione shakes her head, her voice soft and, in of itself, an admission of the fact that she realizes how much she's asking of herself, and doubly of others, to understand as she goes about her day doing whatever's in her reach. While she does allow herself enough time to sleep (whatever she can grasp, nerves being as frayed as they are), enough time to eat, the idea that something might fall apart due to an unwillingness on her part to stretch those limits is impossible to even imagine. "Maybe this talk wasn't the best idea, Charlie, I- I appreciate this, I really do, I just don't know that there's any way to really stop the gears in my head from turning."