Ever since Phoenix met Avalee, he felt something change in him. He was constantly thinking about the two of them dancing in his dormitory, their bodies close and hand in hand. He saw something in her eyes that made his brighten. He didn't know what it was. Maybe it was hope. He saw sadness in her eyes, but he also saw hope.
She's too young. His mind had told him.
She's lost someone close to her.
How dare you try to step in when she's vulnerable.
But there was another thought running around in his head.
She's special.
Yes, she was special. But how could he be so sure? He had only known this girl for a few hours. He had seen her around the school, walking so gracefully through the halls. Sometimes, if he was walking past the herbology greenhouses, he would stop for a moment just to catch a glimpse of her. The way the sunlight hit her, it was mesmerizing.
Phoenix was walking around the lake, wearing only a pair of plain navy blue shorts and his glasses. His hair was flat and pushed to the side, giving him and unusually edgy look from being wet. He had just gotten out of the water after enjoying a nice swim. The lake was warm from the last three months of sunlight heating it. As he walked, the sand around the shore gathering between his toes, he thought of the school year, of lesson plans, of Avalee. Somehow she kept jumping into his thoughts. She was always there.
((Sorry, the last bit was rushed because I got to leave for a few.))
Avalee walked around the lake trying to clear her mind. Professor Longbottom had just had a meeting with her. To sum it up...Avalee would stay on as an inter/assistant to the Herbology Professor. At least through the end of the next school year. This made her happy. Well happier. She would also have to act as a councilor. Longbottom and the Headmistress thought it would be a good idea. After all Avalee was closer to the students ages, and might therefore be easier to talk to. Avalee had mixed feelings about this part of her getting to stay here. But she had to accept it. If she didn't she couldn't stay here. She had to stay here. Hogwarts was her home.
As she walked her thoughts drifted from that to another topic. Phoenix. She had been so happy with him the other night. The man had lured her out of the darkening hole she had been letting herself fall into. She was sure there was a connection there. They had chemistry.
But she shook her head to clear her mind. Yet still her mind wouldn't clear.
It was a warm late summer day by the lake. Her hair was still down though in blond curls. On her body was a black v-neck t-shirt and a dark blue skirt. She had been somewhat dressed up for her meeting.
She thought of Phoenix, of the future as she walked by the lake.
Phoenix noticed another figure strolling about the lake. A female figure. He squinted, holding his hand over his eyes like a scout. It was Avalee. What was she doing here? Of course, she was allowed. But shouldn't she be back at the school or in Hogsmead? It was still the weekend. Still Summer. He shrugged and made his way to her.
"Hello Miss Avalee." He greeted her with a bow.
Avalee smiled as she saw the mad that was in her thoughts approached her. His bow was downright adorable.
"Hello Phoenix. How are you today?" She asked in a polite tone. She was happy to see him. A person who, she hoped, liked to be around her as much as she liked to be around him.
"I'm am...wet." He said, grinning. "How are you doing? How's the job going?" Phoenix ran his fingers through his hair.
((Woo))
"Great. Looks like I'll be staying here at least for another year. Good news. But I'll also be taking on some councilor work, and monitoring detention. Fun stuff like that."
For Avalee, it was so easy to be around Phoenix. She didn't feel presure to be fake. She wasn't stressed, or anything. She could just be Avalee which was so freeing.
Phoenix seemed to smile even more.
"Really!?! I mean uh...really? That's great. Does that mean I get to send all of my trouble makers who don't give a owl feather about Astronomy, to you?"
"Of course. I will definately put them in their place!" She chuckled at the picture in her mind of herself repremanding students. As a petite young woman she found it ridiculous that a teenager twice her size would ever listen to her. Avalee's voice would have to make up for it.
"Excellent." Phoenix said. "They need somebody to tell them whose boss. I remember how my classmates were. Oh, they were menacing." He said mischieviously.
"Well now I'm a little frighted. I think I can take them though right? I could totally beat them...I think..." She laughed lightly, and tilted her head to the side. How could he do that to her. Make her smile when she just wants to sit alone and cry. He was special. No one could do that.
She shifted her weight in her uncomfortable heels she wore for the meeting. Not the most sensible heels for the lake, but it she was out here, so she had to live with it.
((Preggo hormones! Yaaay.))
-The stupid school won`t let me keep my lesson plan, ha! What do they want, the kids to be stupid. Gawd, the stupid Ministry needs to stay out of my stupid lesson plan.-
Oh, Stacey was in a wonderfull mood today. Her head was splitting with a headache, her stomach and feet were killing her, and everything was either too bright or too dark. Currently she had on a pair of big, dark sunglasses because she was walking outside. She had to redo one of her lessons that involved taking the older kids out to the lake and letting them swim or wade with the merpeople.
-But NOOO, I`m not allowed to let the stupid kiddies swim in the water. What idiots! If they knew how often I went swimming they would flip out!-
It honestly wasn`t that big of a deal. When she had planned it she half-thought the headmaster would ask her to think of something different, but today was just one of those days. She was almost seven months in and her hormone levels were way off where they should be for a normal teenager. She would have wicked mood swings-- be ready to kill one minute then rather angelic the next. Sure, she could hold her own before; in fact, some of the older students were a little scared of her. They had seen what she had been like in school, and some might have even been at her mercy one time or another.
"Won`t let the stupid kids learn! How are they supposed to know what the stupid merpeople look like if they can`t ever see one?!" This she spoke aloud, and rather loudly. Instinctively she looked around to see if anyone had heard her.
There were two people closer to the lake, but that was it. Everyone else was inside or in town. Well, whoever it was, they could move or deal with her being at the bloody lake.
((I`ll make her happy in just a little bit. =)))
Phoenix was about to say something when he heard some loud words coming from an approaching person. He squinted and saw Stacey, the pregnant chick. He could hear some things about kids and Merpeople. And the tone wasn't exactly...well...pleasent. He looked to Avalee.
"Wonder what her problem is?" He said, shrugging.
"I`m pregnant, Monsieur Pheonix, and I can hear you. Goodness gracious. I`m not deaf! Being pregnant enhances your senses! Oh, hello Aves." Stacey continued walking towards the pair-- her destination was the lake, afterall-- and when she saw the girl her tone brightened considerably. Well, she wasn`t exactly a girl. They were about the same age. Still, Avalee seemed so young and innocent that it was hard not to think of her as a kid.
"Uh, sorry Pheonix. I just... yeah. Hormones are fun stuff. Never get pregnant, okay." She jokingly added the last part with a smile towards the girl. She hadn`t heard any of their conversation beforehand, but she did notice how closely they were standing.
Avalee returned the smile.
"It's okay. I remember having to watch the childbirth video in school. Not a fun thing to watch. I wish you and Aiden the best of luck." Avalee smiled and winked at Stacey.
((Sortness. Sorry!))
Phoenix raised a brow.
"I...um...don't really...intend on doing that...thanks." For a split second, Phoenix pictured himself, a pregnant man, and winced. "Eeesh, that'd be freaky." He didn't even want to assume where the thing would come out. Ohhhh goodness.
((-Twas directed towards the girl, you silly Flyboy!-))
Stacey made a face when Aves mentioned the tape. Yeah, that had definately not been fun, especially now when she knew how her own twins would be born and she could imagine the pain... eegh.
"Uh, yeah, okay. Not exactly the response I was trying to get there, but whatever." She said with a smile. "So, what were you guys up to before I came along?"
"Just...talking. We actually just found each other out here." Avalee noticed the space between her and Phoenix was small. They were close. She blushed lightly and casually moved away by shifting her weight. Stacey would notice. She would notice the small distance between Avalee and Phoenix. She would notice the blush that colored Avalee's face...and she would notice the way Avalee moved.
So of course Avalee blushed further. Phoenix might not notice, but Stacey would. Avalee smiled to cover it.
Of course Stacey noticed everything. The way the kid blushed and how she tried to move away. Ha. Stacey couldn`t have missed that even if her senses were what they normally were. Avalee`s body language absolutely screamed embarassment. But what was she embarassed about?
-Oh. Ooooh.- Stacey tilted her head to the side and smiled back at Avalee. "That`s cool. I came out to talk with the merfolk for a bit. One of my more exciting classes was rejected by the Ministry." She rolled her ember eyes and looked at Pheonix. How old was he? Twenty-two, twenty-three? Much too old for Avalee. Besides, didn`t her boyfriend just get murdered or something.
"I had gone for a swim. The lake is almost perfect to swim in during this time of year." He took his wand from his back pocket and pointed it at the spot where his shirt was laying.
"Accio shirt." He said softly with a quick flick. The black quarter sleeve shirt immediately was lifted into the air and zooming over to Phoenix's hand. He pulled it on quickly and pressed his hands over the wrinkles. He noticed Avalee lean back with her cheeks a little more colorful than before. But he didn't say anything. He felt Stacey's eyes on him.
Avalee smiled pleasantly while Phoenix and Stacey talked, her mind in thought. Why had she come out to the lake? To just walk? Or was she looking for Phoenix? She had confused herself, and suddenly felt self concious as she realized that Stacey was watching her with judgmental eyes. But hell, Avalee would have judged herself, too.
Stacey couldn`t help but smile as Avalee looked at her again, and with a slight tinge on anger in her aura.
-Hm, wonder what`s wrong.- She thought to herself. It was becoming more and more obvious that Aves was embarassed to be caught here with the Flyboy. Why? Did she have a little crush on him?
-Ew. Isn`t he, like, old?-
"I know. The water`s always warm and everything. I`ve been swimming a lot in there, but you`ve got to watch out for some of the creatures in there. If you stay out of their space they`ll leave you alone, but go to deep and they`ll ettempt to drown you." She frowned slightly "Trust me on that one, not fun."
Avalee frowned. Thinking back to the last time she had gone swimming, which was with Aiden and Vivian...over a year ago. Then the last time she had been out by the lake. Seth had been giving Avalee all of Axel's possessions. And the time before that was right after graduation, when Axel tried to split with her. Lots of memories. Too many.
"I haven't been swimming in over a year." Avalee stated simply.
"Is the giant squid still in there?" Phoenix asked. He remembered watching one kid actually get a ride from it once back when he was a third year. Surprisingly, the squid didn't mind the student hopping onto its limb. He assumed the squid was a hostile creature or something.
((I know this is going to be extreme. Blame the hormones. Tee hee. They`re fun to write with.))
Stacey looked back at Pheonix, trying to make her eyes stay brown and not let them change to green like they wanted to. She felt so annoyed; what was Avalee doing with Flyboy here? And what gave him the right to be standing so close to her? He was, like, thirty!
"You know, I`m not sure. If it is the thing stays pretty quiet. I haven`t seen it in years."
-Why don`t know jump in and find out?-
Avalee looked at Stacey, confused. What was that angry look in her eyes? Was it directed at her?! No......Phoenix? Why...? Avalee was intrigued, and a bit amused. What did she have against Phoenix?
Avalee looked up at the sky. The sun felt nice on her face. Warming.
((Sorry for shortness))
"Things haven't changed much since I went here." He said. "You'd think there would be at least something that was new or updated, but its all the same." But this factor made Phoenix happy. He liked Hogwarts just the way it was. His eyes went to Avalee and he couldn't help but smile. The sun was hitting her perfectly, giving her a pretty glow.
Stacey nodded slowly, ignoring the look she was gettting from Avalee. Of course things hadn`t changed much. They still had the same rather idiotic headmaster and the teachers were mostly the same. This was the year where things would have changed.
-If SOMEBODY would have let me throw the dumb kids in the lake.- Her eyes did change now, she couldn`t help it. They flickered to a medium emerald color, and that`s when Pheonix looked at Avalee again.
"Actually, I had planned some pretty awesome classes, but the Ministry didn`t approve of some of the lessons." She glared at the lake, trying not to glare at the guy.
Now Avalee was really confused, and frustrated. She knew Stacey could read her mind, and took advantage of that. Avalee looked Stacey directly in the eyes.
'Stacey, what is this glaring all about? What happened? What did I do?! And don't try to pretend that you can't hear me. I know you can!' Avalee thought this thought strongly in Stacey's direction. Knowing that Stacey might be able to respond by thinking back to Avalee.
-I MIGHT be able to respond. Ha. Foolish girl. She shouldn`t be here with Pheonix liek this. I`m not blind, I know what`s happening.- This was for Stacey`s mind alone, she looked at Pheonix and gave hima small smile then looked back out the the lake. With a heavy sigh she put her hands on her hips. Being pregnant sucked.
-He`s too old for you.- That was all Stacey sent back to Avalee. She didn`t know why she was so angry about them being here. It might not even be like that. But it is. I can see it.
'Stacey! He is barely four years older than me. Calm down. I am an adult now. And we aren't together, Stacey!' Avalee responded immediately. She didn't have to be judged, and Stacey didn't have to judge her like that. No one had to. Not when she was like this, and still had broken heart..like she always would.
She shifted her weight and looked at the ground.
Stacey couldn`t help but raise an eyebrow, noticing that her eyes were darkening. Oh, Aves was so young. Well, not technically, but in spirit. She had been through a lot but she didn`t seem to show much for it. When Stacey had gone through a rough breakup-- with Niles, the werewolf-- she had been torn apart. After he came back she and saw what he had become she attempted to kill him, but didn`t. After that she had guarded her heart and only two people were able to find it again, and one stole it completely. That was it-- Aiden was it.
Aiden had saved her from herself. He brought out everything good in her and didn`t mind her bad qualities. He fitted her perfectly. Avalee just seemed to restless to find that person, too dependent on having a significant other.
-I`m not judging, Avalee. He is too old for you. You aren`t ready to be in something like this after what happened. You`re being rash and irrational.-
What in the world is going on here? Phoenix thought to himself, holding a puzzled expression. Something was going on between these two ladies, something he could not hear. He pushed his hands into his pockets and looked up at the sky, whistling softly.