The Older Adolescents Get PV Closed

Howard sat alone at the table on the far end of the Potions classroom. Usually the Dhampir would prefer to surround himself with friends during class. Someone to goof off with or whisper to while they suffered through whatever lesson or practical the professor had in store for them. However, potions was one of the few courses that Howard actually enjoyed. Perhaps it reminded him of long ago memories spent in his parents Bakery. The precise measurements, the various ingredients, the smallest details that made all the difference in the outcome. Many dreaded the process, it brought a comfort to Howard.

It would be there that Aurelia would find him as Hufflepuff and Gryffindor shared the room that day. As her greeting reached his ear, his crimson eyes would rise from the cauldron he was preparing and would meet her with an almost quizzical expression. Given their history it was still a bit surprising to simply just say hello. His gaze would quickly shift to neutral, even friendly as she asked him about Bloom. Howard still harbored an immense amount of guilt when it came to Aurelia, but if she was willing to give him a chance, he wasn't going to pass that up.

"No need to apologize." Howard shrugged. "We were the ones airing our dirty laundry." They had chosen to have such an intense conversation in the middle of a crowd. Not really Aurelia's fault for listening. Although she had just perched herself on Bloom's shoulder...no need to press the issue. "We were actually able to figure it all out and things have been really good." The pair had been inseparable since that night and things between them felt stronger than ever. Surviving their first big hurdle had done a lot to strengthen the relationship. "Thanks for your concern though. You know how I can get." Aurelia knew Howard's nature better than most, perhaps more than anyone really. "But we talked it through and we in a good place now, thanks again."

Howard had gone through quite a few changes over the last year and he was trying to practice some behavioral ones as well. So often he would let his own emotions dominate everything around him, including the conversation. It often lead to dialogue being very one sided. "Umm, what about you? Doin' alright?"

Merely sitting near the dhampir felt so terribly unsettling. In the shadows of her subconsciousness was a nagging to distance herself from someone who was once the source of indescribable pain. Her own presence radiated to come to her own defence. Yet she remained, shifting in her seat, slightly turned away from Howard for if whatever reason she had to run, she could. Now, trying to ignore her own self-preserving instincts, she sought a distraction.

Referring to the textbook, Aurelia started on the potion: the draught of living death. Oh, the irony. The adolescent witch couldn't fathom what she could need such a potion for, it was good to have it in inventory. While Howard spoke about him and Bloom, Aurelia began crushing the sopophorous bean, nodding and humming now and then to relay that she was listening. The Gryffindor poured the water and a measure of African Sea salt into the beaker before leaving it to rest, it was a quick process, now leaving come time for her and Howard to converse.

"Yas, I know how you can get." Quite an offhanded remark. She was sure others like Bloom knew but refused to acknowledge Howard's nature, then again, they had never seen his nature first-hand as she did. "I'm alright." Replied Aurelia, a lie that contradicted what she'd told him briefly in the vicinity of the petting zoo. The Gryffindor hadn't been feeling quite well as of late, she could even say she felt a bitter tinge of envy at his and Bloom's relationship.

Staring down at the beaker, she watched the simmer of bubbles rise and break the surface. Her slender fingers tapped at the table, subtle subconscious gestures conveying her growing anxiety. "Have things been better since... summer? With your mother?" She asked. Summer was the last they had a proper interaction, save for the brief one by the zoo, and it was on a rather bad note. Aurelia had told him to stay away from her, yet she had deliberately sat less than an arm's length away from the very person she abhorred.

"You know, you did try to help me after... but the extent of shock I was in was far too great to register or much less recall well after. I wouldn't be alive had you not and had it not been me that you've bitten, things might have taken a greater turn don't you think? You would've snapped out too late to a body already drained dry." Aurelia went on; she couldn't see how else to approach the topic at hand if not brazenly.

Howard shifted on his stool as Aurelia sat at the table. Her eery presence was something he had come to expect, but it still always sent a shiver down his spine. Before their conversation began in earnest they would set forth on their work for the day. The irony of the potion they were covering that day did not go unnoticed by Howard. He was physical embodiment of it and to share a work space with the one his dark nature had nearly killed, almost laughable if it weren't real.

Howard shot a bit of side eye as Aurelia as she claimed to be fine. Last they had spoken things did not seem that way. He was tempted to press the issue, but things between them were still so muddled. They had agreed never to speak again and then they did. Howard was the source of her trauma, but now they were asking about each others well being. What did this mean. There was a real part of him that cared for her. After what she had done for him over the summer, he would see her in a brand new light, but still, was it his place? Could they be friends? "Glad things are going well for you." He'd leave it at that for now.

As if she could read his mind, Aurelia would bring up the topic of his mother. "Yes." Old habits die hard as he gave no further explanation. Howard was usually tight lipped about his mother, except for maybe with Bloom, but that was different. However, this was different and as he grew he was learning to be more open. Keeping all those feelings locked up never ended well. He cleared his throat. "We have been working on our relationship actually. We've been owling back and forth since then and maybe we'll plan a visit soon." That wasn't just lip service. He really hoped they would. Howard's eyes bounced between his work and Aurelia as they spoke. He owed her a debt that he may never be able to repay. "Thank you." The least he could do as his hand reached out towards her. After an awkward hesitation he would gently squeeze her shoulder if she allowed it. Howard would have blushed if he was capable of doing so, but he wanted to express how grateful he was.

Another clearing of the throat marked the end of that as he busied his hands again. However, it would seem that Aurelia was ready for a tense conversation of her own. Howard listened as she recalled his attempt to save her life after nearly killing her. Her would be killer and savior all in one. Two natures that split him down the middle and that night had battled for his very soul. She brought up another valid point too. In a way he was glad that it had been her. If she had not had some training from her family and personal studies she may not have been able to defend herself or perform under such harrowing circumstances. "You're not wrong." Howard agreed. There was no way to tell, but if it had been another, he may very well be living his life behind bars. "In your own way, you saved me that night too." He nodded before letting a moment of silence slip between them. "May I ask why you bring it up?" Howard wasn't angry or anything. Aurelia had every right to discuss it with him as she wished, but they usually very much did not.

"I am happy for you," She remarked hearing that the relationship of mother and son was improving. Aurelia knew Howard before he was turned, he wasn't always this way. Regardless of the intentions of his gesture, she was averse to the idea of any physical touch from the dhampir. Aurelia would not allow it as her terrible presence intensified, clambering into the air around her. "Don't even think about it," she warned curtly as his hand neared her shoulder she leaned slightly away.

Forcing such trauma to the surface over again was never easy, but over the years, Aurelia learnt to cope, she had no choice but to. Now, although it remained as unsettling telling Howard about it, she managed. Breathe. "When you bit me, it left a mark," Multi-tasking with preparing the essence of wormwood for the potion and holding the conversation, she began slowly. "The scar has been there for years, I never took to getting it removed." Aurelia's fingers returned to drumming lightly against the table in nervous conduct.

While it was hideous, the mark was perhaps the only proof of Howard's nature. Perhaps it was the reason for her reluctance after the rumours transpired around the school. Howard was glorified while she, vilified. It was also proof of what he was capable of doing, and Aurelia was afraid. "I'm getting it removed soon. I just thought you'd know." She finally said.

Howard gave Aurelia a smile as the mention she was happy for him. For all they had been through, she still found a place in her heart to help him mend the relationship with his mother and the repair was truly underway. In their owls they had caught up with each other. Filling in the gaps of what had happened over the few years since Howard’s turning. Writing was a much easier way for him to explain what had happened and what he was like now. Hopefully in his words, Dawn would be able to see remnants of the boy he once was and also a clear picture of what he was now. Over time she would possibly be able to fully accept what had happened to her boy and his new nature. Perhaps this would all be made more possible with meeting over Christmas break. Time would tell.

One thing for certain however was that Aurelia was in no way ready for Howard’s touch. “I’m sorry.” He truly was as he brought his hands back and held them up in a sign of peace before busting them with his potion work again. “I just wanted to show you my appreciation, won’t happen again.” It was a stretch in the first place. Howard would just nod again as Aurelia spoke of the scar he had left on her. However she needed to process this, he would do his best to facilitate that for her. It was the least he could do. If she wanted to talk it out, that’s just what he would do.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve seen it once since that night. I wondered why you never had it removed, but who the hell am I to ask you that.” Another truth. “Another debt I owe you, I suppose. You could have shown that to the whole school, but you didn’t.” The physical proof that corroborated her story. Why she chose to hide it was only for her to tell. Perhaps a bit of mercy for a lost and scared pup of a Dhampir. His brow would rise in a bit of shock as she concluded. Just as he had asked, Aurelia claimed she was having it removed.

“Really?” Howard inquired, his tone matching the surprise he felt. “May I ask why? Or why now I should say. After all this time…” The fact that Aurelia was letting this go left him with confusing feelings. Part of him was happy to have this great sin of his washed away, well, physically anyways. Yet part of the young man felt like he deserved to know it was there forever. A reminder of what he had nearly done. Howard had admitted to this crime, but no real consequence had come his way. The student body seemed more willing to try and understand his transgression than condemn him for it. A blessing, but he must always remember. “I dunno. I feel weird now that you’ve told me. Almost like I deserve for it to be there forever, but I’m happy it will no longer defile your appearance.”

Those were facts Howard spoke of. The hideous thing on her skin was the very proof of the dhampir's transgression. Although it could have been easily done, Aurelia hadn't gone knocking on the headliner's doors, brandishing the scar. Or to shut down the false accusations of her having bloodbaiting Howard. "It is my story to tell - or not to. Not for the entertainment of snoots seeking gossip and tea or those seeking answers irrelevant to them, simply to justify what never pertained to them for their own ease of conscience. I have my truth - the truth, I didn't think the populace deserved to know." Of course, Aurelia received the brunt of it for her own choice of keeping her silence. Shunned by false rumours against her whilst Howard was vindicated like a hero. However, that was only partly the reason, there was much more, it was complicated unravelling her own mind, although her writer was having much fun at it.

"Before the headliner's publicity, after the incident, I was afraid and traumatised. Fear that you'd return seeking retribution if I ever let it out. But also, we were friends once - at least, I think we were. In a way, I didn't quite know what to do to deal with it all. I was thirteen." Aurelia had never spoken in depth about her own experience when she should have. Now, of all people, with the very person from which it all started, the source of her three-year-long lament. Yet, getting it off her chest after keeping her hurt and distress in for years, Aurelia couldn't describe how much of a relief it felt.

As Howard talked, shedding his thoughts on her decision, a hand rose to her head from where it had been previously busied with stirring the cauldron. The knuckle of her thumb delicately brushed off the little moisture at her lids. Those who knew Aurelia would know that she did not wear her heart on her sleeve; her emotions were always in check shielded within a near impenetratable wall, but this... all that she was reliving, the memories, thoughts and emotions... were too much. She sniffed. "Sorry," her voice broke slightly in a whisper. Breathe. Pausing, she resumed with her potion, once again, distracting herself. Calming down shortly.

"I hate you, Howard. I hate what you did to me and how you seemed only to care about yourself - your image during the headliner's publicity when I wasn't there to defend my own. How your volatile nature has only seemed to show in my presence. But I've grown and will not be a reminder of your other nature's existence. I know you've had your own struggle and story to tell, but I will no longer play a part in it. I've had my faults too, but whether you admit yours, it's your story. I will no longer be bothered by how you choose to tell, falsified or with the truth." In short, Aurelia was moving on.

((ooc: lol i kinda love how both our pfp looks now throughout posts. its matching beautifully in sync...))

Howard simply nodded as Aurelia spoke. It was her story to tell and although she could have presented the truth to the populace, perhaps they didn't deserve to know. Howard had had his issues with the school paper or just newsprint in general really. Merlin knows the Prophet was guilty of straight up lying to its readers as it printed one false article after another. Who knows what the writers at Hogwarts would do with her words. Some on that staff had treated Howard well, while others had used his story to write sensationalized words about him. All the while he would have simply told anyone the truth had they dared to ask, but most would not care. As Aurelia said, most were after gossip or info to justify their own opinions. Maybe this story was meant for them and them alone.

"We were, yes." Howard agreed that they were at once friends or something close to it. He had always admired her. Skill with a wand and a personality just a powerful. What wasn't there to be drawn to? "I too was afraid. For so long a mostly just sat and waited for administration to round me up for what I did to you. I know I deserved punishment, but I didn't know how go about it all. I should have just told you then, but I never would have found the words. I was young too and freshly turned, not that it is an excuse, but just the truth, Aurelia." In his own way it was therapeutic to admit his guilt. Just as she was doing by openly speaking about her trauma. Who would have thunk that it would be with each other they would find such resolve. A fate that had begun with each other now destined to end with each other.

"You've nothing to be sorry for." Howard perhaps knew she meant for the tear that threatened to spill down her face, but he also meant it for more than that. While Aurelia may be unaccustomed to showing such emotion, the sting in his own eyes was nothing new. Processing the guilt was a good thing, but he always paid for it in tears. The crimson stained liquid that slipped from his eyes would drip from the tip of his nose and into his potion, ruining it in the process, but this moment was bigger than a school lesson. He watched the bloody tear mix in and dissolve away as he let her words wash over him. There was hate, which he deserved. In the past his anger would have run to his defense and lashed out to protect him from the feelings he felt now, but not this time. Howard would let them sink in for they had to finish this once and for all. Aurelia would no longer be a reminder of his dark and dangerous nature, but perhaps an inspiration to his light side. Their relationship was over and what could have been a friend or strong ally would never be, but as she let her trauma go she would part him with a gift. Life's ultimate lesson between good and evil. It was not a nature, but a choice and one that Howard would now continue to make.

Howard's blood stained eyes would rise to meet hers. "I chose to tell the truth, Aurelia. That's all I can do now. That's my promise to you." His eyes would drop back to the ruined potion. With a swipe of his wand he would vanish it away a begin anew.