30 Oct 2023, 22:56
Dear Friend...
Heading out to the grounds with @AngelFyre McCubbin
3 September 2023
Back to witches and wizards and magical beats, to goblins and ghosts and to magical feats. It's all that he loved and it's all that he needed at Hogwarts.
Yes, another year was upon Simon Kincaid and he had a feeling that Fourth Year was going to be totally awesome. He had a handle on his classes in the previous years, he excelled in broom racing, he was writer for The Hogwarts Headliner, prefect, and part of the healing internship. He had close friendships, a best friend, and the best girlfriend and he was beyond thankful for all of it and eager to see what a new year at Hogwarts had in store for him. More knowledge, more memories, and hopefully a chance to continue to better himself.
Simon walked hand in hand with his girlfriend AngelFyre McCubbin through the corridors as she led the way. They had just left the Welcome Back Party where they were able to see some of their closest friends, make a toast to the upcoming school year, and write a letter to a friend to tell how their Summer vacation had been. Simon wrote his to Aunt Maggie and while she was there for half of his Summer and knew all the details, his became more of a thank you note - grateful of her allowing him to explore a relation with his father, once again stating his happiness over her accepted proposal with her former boyfriend (now fiance) Mark Prescott, and promising he would write her often through the school year as he had in years past.
Earlier at the party, AngelFyre had told him that she wanted him to accompany her while she mailed her letter. He wasn't entirely sure who she wrote to - perhaps a friend back home? Going to Summer Camp for half the Summer meant she didn't get to catch up as much as she probably would have wanted with Ainsley or Kendric, her two best friends back in Stenton Village, and then the month she did have was unfortunately saying goodbye to dear beloved Grandma Ruth.
He walked with her, knowing his letter was in his satchel that rested at his side. When they got to the Owlery, at least that's where he assumed they were headed, he could send his off to South Kensington. The idea of the Owlery faded when she mentioned needing his broom.
"My broom?" he asked, knowing that it was achievable to get to the Owlery without one. In fact, every time he had ventured to the Owlery, he had gone without his broom. Simon looked over to her and she shook her head but gave no other explanation. "Okay, you, me, and my broom," he repeated her and followed her toward the Kitchens and the Hufflepuff area of Hogwarts.
They entered the Hufflepuff Common Room, and he thought back to shortly after his return from Christmas Break during his Second Year, her First, when the two spoke to one another in that very space for the first time. Their initial conversation revolved around the weather, of all basic things, but Merlin had it grown into so much more. Somtimes the little things can become the big things, and it might not have seemed to an outsider that AngelFyre McCubbin would have become such an important person in his life in that first meeting, but that first meeting alone he knew he had to get to know her more and arranged a second meeting the very next day. Something told him to spend more time with this girl, to know her deeper, to bring her into his life. How thankful he was that he listened.
"Okay, I'll go get my broom and then you can fill me in on what idea is in that beautiful mind of yours," he said as he came to her, bringing his arms around her waist before pulling her in for a slow kiss, the type that you could get lost in for hours - but unfortunately he would end it too soon, leaving them both wishing for longer, so he could retrieve that broom.
He wouldn't be gone from her long.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
5 Nov 2023, 20:05
Dear Friend...
3 September, 2023
The look of surprise on his face when he questioned her about his broom brought a genuine smile to her face. Simon was good for her in every way that she thought important... vital, even... and in ways she had probably yet to comprehend. Surprising her lad was something she took particular pride and delight in doing, so it was nice to know that, even tonight, she had managed to do so without consciously trying. It was good to keep him on his toes. Complacency and boredom were two things she never wanted him to feel when thinking of her.
As she led the way for them back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, hand in hand, she spoke up. "Your toast was beautiful, Simon. There are moments with you when my pride in you simply overflows, and that, my love, was definitely one of them," and she squeezed his hand.
They reached the barrels outside their Common Room in short order and she tapped the correct one, in the proper cadence, as Simon chanted out, quietly, Helga Hufflepuff's name. And just like magic... because it was... the barrels swung wide revealing the entrance to the warmth and comfort of their home away from home for seven years of their lives. They stepped in together and she was just about to tell him she would wait for him down there when he spoke of going to get his broom, but he instead pulled her into his arms and kissed her slowly.
AngelFyre always loved kissing Simon, but lately their kisses had softened around the edges. The two had some time ago become rather combustible when in each others' arms, liplocking as they often did, but kissing more recently had been more of a healing connection, for AngelFyre anyway, and less of a passionate one. They had never spoken of it directly, but it just seemed to be something Simon intuitively understood. She had come to believe it was, in part, due to his Healer instincts, but really, in their case, she believed it was because he was so tuned in to her and her feelings. She was still as hot as ever for the boy as she felt the distant, yet welcome, stirrings smoldering deep within, but those impulses were still only on the periphery of her conscious thinking. Outside pressures had dampened such desires, but just temporarily. It was her unbreakable connection to Simon in such moments that kept the slow burn of those embers stoked between them, something even overwhelming grief could never entirely snuff out.
What came to her in wave upon wave while in his arms in those moments as his lips tenderly pressed into hers was comfort, reassurance, protection, patience, and his love. Most of all though, she felt his understanding. Simon knew exactly what it felt like to not fully feel like himself, or in control of himself, so she knew of no safer place to be than in his arms in those moments, or any others for that matter.
"I will be over there," and she swept her hand and her attention towards the fireplace, "waiting for you as patiently as my impatient heart will allow in your absence," she smile-teased at him as he stepped away from their embrace. Then a memory of something he often said to her when they would be parted for mere minutes lit up her recall center. AngelFyre was going to tease him in the same playful, lilting tone as he would tease her when speaking the words, but as soon as they formed on her lips, she found they were absolutely true, no matter how cheesy they sounded. "I will miss you every second until then."
Hurry back was the unspoken message behind the message.
As she watched him hurry up the stairs to the Boys' Dormitory, she made her way over to their favorite area in the Common Room and sat herself down on the sofa. It was special to them both because it was where they first met. He was sitting then where she was now, strumming on his guitar and jotting down notes in one of his ubiquitous notebooks. She was cold after coming in from making a snow angel out in the Courtyard, dreading the idea of Hogwarts and everything about it pretty much. She had not even wanted to return for the second term of her first year, but her folks... and Grandma Ruth... had told her to give it one more shot and if she still hated it at the end of her first year, they would not make her return.
Hot tears sprang to her eyes at the thought of Grandma Ruth, but she quickly wiped them away and turned her focus instead back to her surroundings. "Thank you," she whispered to all three of them, grateful for their wisdom in such matters. How close she and Simon had come to not even meeting. Such a happenstance would have been her greatest, yet unrecognized, life's tragedy. She, like Simon, would have lived and loved and probably had a happy, fulfilled life, but she knew without a doubt, they were exactly where, and with whom, God had meant them each to be. Yes, they would have lived and loved and been loved, but no one could ever love either of them better than they loved each other.
She did not have to be a Seer to know the truth of that.
As the distant laughter of a couple of first years playing Gobstones filtered over to her, AngelFyre caught sight of the heart she had helped Simon make in honor of his friend, Alexa. How stupid of her! All this time she had been thinking that Woofy would best understand her grief, having lost Liam, but she had forgotten about Alexa. Well, forgotten would not be precisely correct. Alexa was a shadowed, but constant presence for her because she was one of Simon's first and best friends at Hogwarts before her untimely death. Whenever he spoke of her, it was obvious he still missed her, but like Woofy, Simon, too, had managed his grief and found a way to live joyously.
Looking to the stairs, she really was more anxious than ever for Simon to traipse down them, his broom in hand and sporting his devastatingly dashing smile. This was going to be a good night.
***********
As they hurriedly ran out of the Common Room and through the Corridors, their robes flying behind them, they made it to the front doors and ventured out into the cool, but not cold, dark of night. It was now past curfew and there should be no students outside of their own Common Rooms, let alone outside of the castle, but kids being kids, that might be asking too much. Still, their business right now would not be as Prefects looking for rule breakers. Nope. Their business was to fly.
At least at first.
"We have not had a chance to fly together since the summer, and I miss it. Will you just take us up and circle the Grounds for a bit? The night is so beautiful and I want to hold you." Then she stopped short, shaking her head as a more pleasurable idea hopscotched into being. "Scratch that. I want you to hold me as I look for just the perfect spot to mail my letter. And spoiler alert, Handsome, it is not the Owlery we will be flying up to tonight."
She was bounce stepping in place as Simon quickly checked his broom over and mounted it. When he turned to her and offered her his hand, nodding slightly to the spot he had left for her in front of him, she eagerly took her place. The normal posture for flying, always, was one of leaning. The girl knew exactly what she was doing when she asked to be in front because her fellow was going to have no choice but to lean over her if he had any hope of controlling the broom.
"Feel free to nibble on an earlobe, rest your chin on my shoulder, brush a cheek against mine, or even whisper romantic nothings, that are really romantic everythings, in my ear, but you are forbidden.... absolutely forbidden... to breathe on or kiss the back of my neck. Failure to heed such warnings could leave you having to practice one of your SAVE maneuvers as your girl would most likely swoon right off this broom," and she quickly turned to kiss his cheek, feeling happier than she had in a month. "And for the record, that would be your fault and not mine. I have every intention of keeping the promise I made to you about never accidentally on purpose slipping off your broom. I am nothing if not good to my word. Now, take us up, Mav. We are looking for a high, flat spot."
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ReducioSimon and AngelFyre's writers have long ago given standing permission to godmod the other's character.
The magic is real.
10 Nov 2023, 14:52
Dear Friend...
High, flat spots and beyond with @AngelFyre McCubbin
There was no rush that evening as curfew didn't hold much meaning to the two of them anymore being both prefects. That didn't mean they held no regard for the rules by any means, otherwise they wouldn't be doing their jobs properly, but just that those rules could bend a little - at times. This was one of those times.
If they were looking for a high, flat spot, then surely she didn't mean landing on the Grounds or even in a tree. If somewhere was both high and flat then it meant the rooftops of the Castle and he remembered her telling about her dream of being up there and wanting to try it someday. Tonight would fulfill that wish.
Their recent moments were filled with a Summer Camp where they weren't housed together, Grandma Ruth passing away, the service and saying goodbye to dear Grandma Ruth, and then an unexpected visit from his father just before returning to Hogwarts. They needed this evening, and while he would look for a high, flat spot - it would have to wait. He would do all the things in which she had said were acceptable to do while they took that broom ride and then some, seeing all the sites, talking over some of their favorite memories thus far from Hogwarts - and it didn't strike him odd that nearly every single one of them included the girl who was in his arms.
He was glad to be back at Hogwarts. There were some stresses included in being a student at a wizarding school and yet they also were in their own little bubble - away from the larger world and some of its larger hardships. He often wondered what it was going to be like for AngelFyre's Seventh-Year at Hogwarts, when he would already be graduated. Surely that would be a struggle for the two of them, but that was four years away. And no matter, they would conquer that time and build their new bubble in the world. Whatever they would be doing, wherever they would be - together.
After what seemed the perfect amount of timing, he began to look for a high, flat spot. Hogwarts had several turrets upon the roof and while these would be high, they certainly would not be flat. Just as he didn't want his girl to fall from his broom, he certainly didn't want to have her fall from the rooftops of the school. He had his wand, and he might have known the slowing charm, Arresto Momentum, but that didn't mean he trusted his wand-casting capabilities of performing it correctly.
The highest, but flattest place on the rooftops was just to the right of the Entrance Hall - where below and if in the castle's interior you would be walking along many floors of straight corridor. It was sandwiched between a spiral staircase that resulted in a turret and spiral at one end, and a tower which resulted in the same at the other end. But it was high, as it went up several floors, and it was flat. There were many other places on the castle rooftop that were higher, but none that were safe enough to occupy.
Simon slowed his broom down, glancing to the sky above. It was clear of any cloud cover and so there was no worry about incoming rain to ruin their evening - although he would have a try at an umbrella making charm if needed. That was a no-risk involved wand-casting sort of thing. Sometimes he wondered if a better wand wouldn't suit him more, as the man at the shop said his was best for things like dueling but dueling wasn't in his nature nor something he took interest in. That would be something to look up at some point in time, and Simon thought about writing it down in his notebook upon landing but instead he did his best to store it into his memory to do so later. Right now, this moment, was about his girl and he wanted his full attention to be on her.
"I hope this meets your qualifications, my love."
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
18 Jan 2024, 19:45
Dear Friend...
Hard Realities @Simon Kincaid
3 September, 2023
"This is perfect," and she quickly turned back to kiss him before dismounting. She stepped back and waited for him, letting him rest his broom against a wall. When he turned towards her, she reached her hand out for his, and together they walked towards what would be the area above the Entrance Hall.
They stood in silence and looked out over the grounds. "It never fails to amaze me how different everything feels and looks from above, even in the darkness. When you take me flying with you," and at this point she released his hand and instead wrapped her arms around him, interlocking her fingers as they rested on the far side of his waist, "I feel like I come away from it with a new perspective on things, literally and metaphorically." AngelFyre gently squeezed him and rested her head in the crook of his neck as they both continued to look, not at one another, but out into the world.
Seconds later, her breath caught and she once again found herself in the position of trying to hold back a broken dam's worth of tears. "I know I do not have to tell you what I know you know, but I feel like if I do not say it I might just explode," and then she turned her head and buried it in his neck. "My faith is strong, Simon, it is, but - ... but I... but I feel broken. I am so afraid I am not going to ever be me again and it scares me. Every little thing... and I do mean every... is such a mountain for me right now where once it likely would have only been a pebble." Her voice was low and sometimes her words cut out because the air to propel them into existence was choked off by a sob.
She felt his arms tighten around her then and his lips found the top of her head for a tender kiss. "I was going to tell you this when I was visiting you in London, but Adrian's surprise visit rather upset the applecart." She calmed herself and then uttered, "I almost did not come back to Hogwarts this term." Simon stiffened but did not move otherwise and remained silent. "Mom is absolutely devastated and my leaving again just felt like it would be another loss for her to have to endure. Plus, I cannot deny that there was a strong pull to just be where Grandma Ruth had been, surrounded by the people who knew her and loved her like I did. It is where all of my memories of her originate, and now I just feel like I drift through my days."
A deep inhalation was slowly released and she continued, but not immediately. "You have my father to thank for the fact that I am here right now. I did not come to my decision easily. I am sure it will not surprise you in the least to know that YOU were the thing that kept tearing at my heart for even thinking about not returning, but when I told Daddy of my plans, he scotched them immediately," and she smiled wanly. "Come to think of it, he is the reason... well, all three of them really... Daddy, Mom, and Grandma Ruth...that we even met in the first place. After my first term that first year, I was ready to say goodbye and good riddance to Hogwarts. They all convinced me to come back and at least finish out the year."
AngelFyre suddenly straightened and quickly dried the corner of her right eye with the heel of her hand. She looked up at Simon and smiled, but it was not nearly as solemn as before. "Gosh. I just remembered something. All three did work on convincing me to come back to Hogwarts, that is true, and I do believe they would have ultimately relented if I had honestly not wanted to return, but it was Grandma Ruth who swung the pendulum this way. She told me that if I came back and truly hated it and wanted to come home, she would crawl all the way here to get me if necessary. She always said that when she would say goodbye to me at King's Cross Station, but she made it feel okay to leave. It was nice to feel that loved and protected, and honestly, if any loved one ever had a shot at getting their kid out of Hogwarts, I suspect Grandma Ruth would be," and she faltered before correcting herself "would have been that person."
She broke eye contact with Simon while she turned her attention to her enchanted satchel. It took her practically no time at all to find what she was looking for as it was sitting prettily on top of everything she carried around with her daily. As she reached to bring it out, she found her smile growing. She held it up between them and turned it this way and that so Simon could get a good look at it.
"I bought this in London when we were buying our school supplies. I bought a few of them actually. It may look like an ordinary paper airplane, but it is supposed to be enchanted and will fly and fly and fly...." and her lips may have quivered a bit as she thought of her aviatrix of a grandmother. "When I learned we were writing letters at the event to a friend, Grandma Ruth just seemed to be my obvious choice. And then it was like it was all meant to be when I remembered the enchanted paper airplanes in my satchel," and she looked up into Simon's tar black eyes and felt her own stormy eyes brimming with tears, but not spilling over. "Can you think of any more perfect way to write to her than on a paper airplane?" she asked him enthusiastically. "I mean, it may fly and fly and fly, but it might be too big an ask, even if enchanted, to hope it will find her where she is now. Still, I somehow feel like she will know."
She turned back to look out over the Grounds. Silently thanking her grandmother for the hundred millionth time for everything, AngelFyre reached for Simon's hand and placed it over her hand holding the paper plane. "Because she was always working in the background on our behalf, it feels right that we both should send this off," and they moved their hands in tandem, first back and then forward, releasing the plane to glide into the night on the uplift provided by the slightest wisp of an autumnal breeze.
Simon's hand remained on hers as they lowered them, but he soon turned his to grasp hers, their fingers interlacing. AngelFyre watched the plane make slow, lazy loops and then it made an odd, steep climb before turning its nose down in a dive-bomb maneuver which ultimately transitioned into a crop dusting maneuver. She put one hand up to her mouth and laughed out loud. "Simon, I swear, if there were highland cattle down there, I would right this moment believe that Grandma Ruth really got this letter."
They both laughed but then quietly watched it before it eventually flew off into the night. AngelFyre's heart broke a little yet again, but she felt some sense of peace. Blinking back the tears threatening to spill, she quietly whispered just under her breath, "P.S. I love you."
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The magic is real.
24 Jan 2024, 03:04
Dear Friend...
Send off with @AngelFyre McCubbin
While she claimed to be struggling with her faith, and he held no doubt that she felt that way, he knew that she truly wasn't. If someone was losing faith, they wouldn't be putting a note onto a magical paper airplane and ready to send it off into the Heavens. No, she felt lost, she felt hurt, she felt the sadness of loss - but she wasn't without her faith. But in times like this that she felt weakened, he would be right there by her side to help lift her up. He knew she hadn't lost faith, and he just needed to be there with her and support her until she realized that she hadn't lost it. He would certainly do so without hesitation.
He was happy to hear that both of her parents and Grandma Ruth played a role in her return to Hogwarts after the first half of her first year. It was then that he met her and if she had decided to remain in Scotland or found alternative schooling, he would forever be missing out on a part of himself. Sure, maybe he'd find love, but he wouldn't have found this love and he was quite certain that this love was the greatest love.
"Godspeed, magical paper airplane," he said softly as he watched as it sailed onward through the sky, doing various impressive maneuvers frequently. He could see it further in the distance than she could with his keen dhampir eyesight and he could swear it began to make an upward climb.
Simon took her hand into his and squeezed it three times, indicating their silent 'I love you' before he turned to look at her. "And she loves you," he said, using the current tense. After all, his mindset aligned with a somewhat popular saying - those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear.
"She's still very much with you, even with us. I can feel it." And maybe when the hurt faded some for AngelFyre, she would be able to feel it, too. He would hope and pray on it.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)